Fragment: Jaune Gaiden
by Aloehisja
Summary: I don't like war. Yet here he was, the man of a thousand faces. Leader of a nation of armies. Slayer of monsters. Slayer of men. Bane of the Inner Circle. At the end of it all though, he is a man, a soldier, a hunter. His name is Jaune Arc: The Hero of the Outer Circle.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello everyone. It's Aloehisja with a new story as promised. I'm a fan of the Metal Gear series (except for that zombie survival one) and RWBY, and after reading a one shot that combined Grimm Eater and RWBY, I wanted to try and make one myself.**

 **To make things a bit more challenging and not so predictable, no I will not just replace the Metal Gear characters with the RWBY characters. I'm also going to add some different things to keep it close to the RWBY world.**

 **And as promised we have two sides: from Jaune Arc and from Ruby Rose.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or Metal Gear.**

 **Prologue:** Humble Beginnings

 **Mystral, Ansel**

In the village of Ansel, all was peaceful despite the war that was happening all over Remnant. The Color Wars, a great war that would forever be burnt into the history books of Remnant forever.

Sitting huddled by the fireplace with seven sisters was twelve-year-old Jaune Arc, who was holding his baby sister as she slept in his arms. Son to Juniper Arc, a Huntress trained from Haven, and Hughes Arc, a simple hunter from Ansel who married into the Arc name.

Both parents were currently attending a village meeting late in the night while the children waited for their return. TVs aired the long lists of deaths and newsletters brought into town shared how close the battle was spreading. There was fear it would be reaching their doorsteps anytime soon.

Hearing a strange knock at the door, his eldest sister Rouge went to answer. It was safe for them to answer since it was the knock their parents used to show it was them and not a stranger. The children immediately ran to greet their parents' return. It wasn't a happy return as they were both sweating with their father holding his hunting bow and their mother holding her shield and sword.

"Everyone needs to pack their things quickly." Juniper, mother of seven, ordered them with no room for argument. "We need to be out of the village before it's overrun."

"Mom?" Jaune asked while still holding his sister who was starting to cry.

"Give Viola to me." She said urgently. Taking her baby girl out of Jaune's arms, she bounced her a bit and shushed her back to sleep. "Jaune. Go get your things. Grab clothes, food, and whatever else you can carry."

Nodding, Jaune went to grab his stuff. He owned very little more than a few clothes and an old pair of shoes handed down from their neighbors. Stuffing his bag with some of the necessities like toiletries and towels, he nodded as he felt that was enough. Just as he was about to leave his room though, he paused as he saw the pocketknife his dad got for him. Feeling it would be useful, Jaune placed it in his pocket for when it might be needed.

Running back to the others, he saw he was the fourth of his siblings to be ready while the other girls were still packing. After getting his stuff checked by his dad, the young blonde waited outside sitting on the porch. He could hear other people clambering in their houses and some other kids whining on not wanting to leave. It was hard to believe his little peaceful village would be caught in a war.

"Let's go." Juniper called from inside the house. Stepping out with Viola still in her hands, she marched out with his sisters in a line. "Jaune, stick close to your father."

Doing as he was told, Jaune walked next to his dad as they followed the path out of the village. In his dad's pack, he had his hunting gear, which consisted of a spear, a bow with arrows, and a large machete at his side. In his hands, he held his hunting rifle close to his chest.

"How long will we be gone?" One of his sisters asked as they made it to the entrance.

"I don't know dear." Juniper said. Shifting her baby around, she pulled a flashlight out of her pocket. "Everyone hold hands and don't let go. We'll be going through the forests."

The kids knew the forest well. There were the occasional Grimm, but Juniper and the other Hunters kept them at bay while the normal hunters searched for food. The mother and those trained to combat Grimm became even busier once the war started. Talks of death brought negative emotions that attracted them to the town.

Hiking in the dark, the large family was met with other people of their town who knew the forest just as well as them. There was a bunker miles away with a tunnel that would lead them the capital of Mystral where Haven Academy was. It was there where they would be safe.

"I'm tired." Vera whined after what felt like a few miles.

Stopping, the parents turned to their children to see they were all feeling exhausted. Sharing a look, they nodded in agreement to make camp where they stood. They felt they were far enough from the village soon to be invaded by the forces of the other regions. Some stated it was Atlas while others said Vale. To think it was those two super-powered areas that started the war, and somehow Mystral and Vacuo were pulled into the fight.

Making a small fire, Hughes turned to his only son who was staring into the dancing flames. He was always so excitable when wound up, but whenever he was thinking, he'd be as quiet as a mouse. He would make a fine hunter once they got out of this dilemma.

"What's on your mind?" He asked his boy.

"What's going to happen to the others?" Jaune asked with innocent eyes staring at his old man.

"They'll be fine son." He ruffled his hair. "We're all going to a safe zone far from the battle."

"But while we were going, I saw a few of the other people staying." The little boy replied. "What will happen to them?"

Hughes didn't know how to explain this to his son. His son's aware of the concept of life and death since he's been told so, but that was with hunting for game. These were the lives of people he grew up with who would be dying.

"They'll be fine." He lied. He hated lying, but for his son he had to. "They'll all be fine."

"Promise?"

That made things harder for Hughes. He wasn't a real Arc like his wife, but an Arc never went back on his word.

"Get some sleep." He averted to promising. "We have a long walk ahead of us tomorrow."

Walking to sit with his wife and baby, Hughes took Viola out of his wife's arm to hold himself. He needed to hold on to them as much as he could. He needed to have something in his arms to remind him what he was fighting for.

 **Morning**

Waking up before the sun rose, Juniper stood up to stretch. Looking over her sleeping children and husband, she felt they were one person short. Panic coursing through her and flooding adrenaline into her body, she pulled the covers over each of her babies to see who wasn't with them.

' _Rouge, Viola, Vera, Misty, Amber, Lily, Opal…'_

"Where's Jaune?" She whispered in panic, looking everywhere for signs of her boy.

Shaking them all awake, she asked them each if they knew where their brother was. Getting a negative from all of them, Hughes saw fresh tracks leading back to Ansel.

"Bring our girls to the bunker." Juniper told her husband as she picked up her shield and sword. "I'm going back for our boy."

"Juniper." Hughes called to her before she could dash off.

"I'll be fine dear." She kissed him before lowering herself to kiss her baby girl. "I promise."

That was all the husband needed to hear from his wife. She'd bring their son back, and when she did they'd ground him until he was forty.

 **With Jaune**

He'd snuck off in the middle of the night when everyone was asleep. He needed to go back to Ansel to at least find his friends. Seeing smoke up ahead, Jaune quickly dashed knowing that was where his village was.

Reaching the entrance, that was all that was left of the town. Covered in soot and morning fog, Jaune saw the ruined town. How was it they could sleep through it all? Surely they would have heard an explosion or something. Where were the Hunters when this was happening?

Gulping, the young blonde walked into the ruined village to see if he could find anyone that survived. Pushing past through the fog, Jaune tripped on something that made a clang. Pulling himself up to see what he tripped over, he saw it was a shield. Picking it up, he noticed how damaged and dented it was with a few burn marks. At least he knew there were Hunters who tried to help.

"I heard something over here!" A gruff voice shouted, scaring Jaune.

Looking around, he found a spot to hide behind some rubble. Ducking, he saw men in white uniforms and strange helmets walking to where he tripped. They had the insignia for Atlas on their arms and were carrying flamethrowers powered by dust.

That was why no one far away heard the explosions of bombs. The news spoke of Atlas' special squad of fire dust users that could destroy towns in a single night. Many thought it as propaganda to make Atlas seem more fearsome, but now Jaune saw it was true. The Atlas Fire Squad.

"Looks like we have ourselves a survivor." One of the men said, scanning the area for any sign of life. Pressing a button his helmet, he turned the settings to heat vision. "Hard to believe we have one after we burnt this whole place."

"Must be a straggler." The other one said, seeing some finger marks on the shield. "Small hands. Must be a kid. Think we should ignore it?"

"You heard command." The one using heat vision replied. "No survivors. After this, we're searching the woods for runaways."

"If you say so." His partner shrugged while getting up.

As the two walked around, Jaune tried to find somewhere to hide better. Everything was in ruins and no building looked safe to go in.

"Come on out kid." One of the men shouted. "We're not going to hurt you. We've got candy for you."

"Don't say it like that man." The other man said in disgust. "Makes you sound like some kind of pedo."

"I'm not hearing that from you Lolicon." The man huffed.

"You get one bad codename and everyone's making the assumption." The guy growled, walking off to check a building. "This place is clear."

"Torch it just in case."

From his hiding spot, Jaune gasped as he saw the man burn the house down. Hearing screams of agony, it was clear someone was hiding inside the house. The soldier shot another burst of flames inside and moved out of the way as a woman ran out while covered in fire.

' _I know her.'_ Jaune's eyes teased up as he recognized the woman. She was a teacher at the local school.

As the woman dropped to the floor dead, the two man shot another burst of fire on the corpse until it was soon nothing but ash. That didn't stop the smell of burnt hair and human flesh from piercing the young boy's nose though. Feeling sick to his stomach, he couldn't hold it in as he threw up water and air. The noise was enough for the two soldiers to hear.

"There's another one!" The soldier shouted, getting Jaune to start running.

Hiding behind the stone walls, he kept running as fast as he could from the two men. Coming back was a big mistake and now he was going to pay for it with his life.

He could hear the clink of the men's weapons against their suits as they chased after him. They tried to shoot at him with their flamethrowers but he moved out of the way with only minor singes to his clothes and hair. There was no place to hide from the two and he was getting tired.

Dodging another burst of fire, he turned and ran into a house that had it's roof destroyed. Looking for the backdoor, he saw none.

"End of the line kid." The man Jaune heard as Lolicon laughed.

As both men aimed their weapons on him, Jaune saw a window close to him. Running towards it, he felt flames lick at his heels as he jumped through them. Glass cut into his arms and legs but he ignored it as he tried to get up. Limping as fast as he could, he regained some power back in his body thanks to adrenaline pumping and got through the pain. The men were still chasing him and there was no way to escape.

Getting past two building, the adrenaline wore off and Jaune fell to the ground. He was low on energy with an empty stomach and was injured. Rolling over to see the two men catching up, the little boy shut his eyes to prepare himself for the inevitable.

"Ragh!"

Hearing a shout of pure anger, the blonde boy opened them to see his mother arrived just in time to save him.

"We've got a Huntress!" The man shouted, aiming his gun at Juniper.

Swinging her blade, the mother swatted the gun out of her way and slammed her pommel into the soldier's helmet cracking it. Turning to the other man, she delivered a swift kick to the soldier's leg that had it bent in a bad way. Lifting her sword, she ran it through his neck and twisted it until she heard a pop.

"You bitch!" The surviving soldier shouted, shooting flames out and focusing it on Jaune's mom.

Opening her shield, Juniper hid behind it to protect her from the flames. It wasn't doing much since the heat was cutting off her oxygen and making hard for her to breath. Screaming in pain from the heat burning her shield and arm, the mother tried to push forward to run her sword through the man's chest. But it wasn't doing, as the flames would not cease.

"Hah!" Jaune shouted, jumping on the soldier's back and rocking him off balance.

Remembering he had a knife in his pocket, he pulled it out and started stabbing the bad man repeatedly on the back. Seeing the crack where his mom hit the man he drove his knife there, breaking it and catching the man in the eye.

"Aaargh!" The soldier screamed, shaking Jaune off and throwing hi to his mother.

Pulling the knife out of his eye, he aimed his weapon to the boy and his mom to burn them together but froze in shock. The last thing he saw before death got him was an angry mother swinging her sword at him and severing his head from his body.

Gasping for air, Juniper fell to the ground to regain some energy. She had been sprinting the whole way back to find the town she raised eight children in destroyed. She spotted more soldiers around burning the place and had to take them down before she rushed in to find her son being chased. Her little boy was lucky only two of them saw him or else he would have had an army chasing after him.

"Mom!" Jaune hugged her, making her wince as he was hugging her burnt arm. Good news was that it wasn't a third degree burn.

"Ah! Ah!" She winced, bringing him to her other side that wasn't stinging. After releasing him from a bone-crushing hug, she chopped the top of his head for putting her through so much. "What were you thinking?! Why'd you come back here?"

After rubbing the pain away, Jaune hugged his mom once more.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled into her shoulder.

Sighing, Juniper pushed herself up with the help of her sword and son. Her boy was always a good kid who listened to her, but for the life of her she couldn't understand what was worth coming back to this place for. As they walked out, she noticed he would pause for a brief moment whenever they would pass a ruined house or a destroyed building.

As they made hiked through the forest, there was silence between the two. Juniper knew her son was in deep thought, but the look in his eyes showed there was worry. Grabbing his hand in hers, she squeezed it to show she was here for him. The small smile she got in return was enough for now.

Getting past they're temporary campsite, the two met a few other survivors of Ansel. There was a spark of life back in her son's eyes as he greeted some of the people he knew from the town. Looking around though, his smile soon faded.

"Do you guys know where Jill is? Jill Dorei." He asked the group. Looking around he hoped someone would tell him. "Or Arty Draco? …Cid Ill? …Carla?"

No one knew who they were or didn't want to tell him. It did answer why Jaune went back though. Juniper knew those names as the kids Jaune would play with. She also remembered those last names as the people who were stubborn and refused to leave their homes. It was clear what happened to them.

"Please?" Jaune asked in a whisper, nearly falling to tears. He didn't want what happened to the woman he saw in Ansel to be the fate his friends met.

"Come along, Jaune." Juniper pulled her son's hand. There was no resistance as she brought her son and the remaining survivors to the bunkers.

There was no chatter as they all feared the soldiers were close. By the time they reached the bunkers though, people swarmed in and cried in relief to see friends and relatives they thought were lost to them. Looking around though, Jaune didn't see any of his friends.

"Juniper!" Hughes shouted, running towards her with children close by.

The mother was engulfed by a tidal wave of seven girls and a scruffy husband who choked the air right out of her. They quickly released her once she winced from one of the girls touching her burnt arm.

Taking the first aid kit out, Hughes got to treating the nasty burn his wife got as she retold him of what happened. The man became somber as he glanced to his depressed boy. Turning back to his wife, she had an impressed look in her eyes as she gazed at their son.

"Despite everything, I'm impressed he could hold off against those two soldiers." She smiled proudly. "If not for him, I might have died by the flames."

"Should I talk to him?" Her big teddy bear asked.

"No." Juniper told her man. "You've taught him all you could about the hunt. Now it's my turn."

Patting her hand, he kissed it and smiled as she ran her hand through his beard. The two had gone through many a challenge, had their fights now and then, but they got through it all and raised a wonderful family. "We're still grounding him though, yes?"

"Of course we are." Juniper rolled her eyes. "It's just not going to be banning television or sticking him in his room anymore."

Getting up and walking over to her son, Juniper watched as her little Jaune stared at all the happy people. He was always thinking, never sharing what it was until he was ready. Sitting next to him, she pulled him into a hug and held on even though he stared off to the crowd.

"You're grounded, you know that right?" She told him, getting a nod in return. "What goes through that head of yours?"

"I don't like war." He muttered, burying his head deeper in to her chest.

"Nobody does sweetie." She whispered, kissing the top of his head.

On this day Juniper did not know it, but her son was marked to become something greater than all the Arcs. As they rested and readied themselves for their trip to Haven, the cogs were turning as the end of the Color Wars was drawing to a close.

 **AN: Ten page prologue. If you guys are wondering about the OCs, it's just for the character build. We still don't know who Jaune's sisters are so I borrowed a few names from some writers. Hope this was interesting enough to get you readers curious. If it has, then reading Ruby's side might interest you too.**

 **I'm Aloehisja, and I hope you enjoyed.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or Metal Gear**

 **AN: Hey there readers. Glad some of you enjoyed the prologue and got hooked. You're all awesome. I've been a bit iffy on the title though.**

 **Not sure if I should change it. What do you guys think? Because before I went with Fragment, the other title was Dust Gem (Jaune's side) and Dust Gem Heavy (Ruby's side). To be honest, I'm not so good with title names.**

 **Moving away from that, let's get to the story.**

 **Chapter 1:** War

When had all this started? The people of Mistral could guess it all started when they believed Atlas to be their friends and allies. That was a mistake the people of Anima soon regretted once the fight between Vale and Atlas began. It was just those two kingdoms, but after half a decade of fighting they tried to reach out to their neighbors. Vale reached out to Vacuo and Atlas to Mistral – but neither one wanted anything to do with their piss party. Unlike Vale who accepted Vacuo's rejection, Atlas wasn't so forgiving.

The kingdom on Solitas invaded Mistral to drain it of its supplies – and not just its food either. It was at that time the people of Mistral knew what Atlas thought of them – slaves. It didn't matter if the people were human or faunus, all were people living in Anima were slaves in the eyes of Atlas. And so Mistral rose to the challenge to push their fake allies back to their cold continent. Sadly, Atlas was smart and put on a word to Vale that Mistral was aiding them with supplies and such. So now the kingdom of arts and culture had both superpowered kingdoms invading their lands. Vacuo soon got included once citizens of Vale rushed into the desert lands to hide away from the war. And so was the start of the Color Wars.

 **Anima, Miles from Mistral**

They were running. Just behind them, bullets whizzed and caught a few of the people following them as they tried to make it to the gates of Mistral. The gates were just in their sight with the other Hunters shooting over them to the enemies following. Explosions followed the refugees, making their ears ring by how close they were.

The Vale Army found the tunnels and chased them out. The tunnel leading straight into Haven Academy was destroyed from the outside and the group had to turn around to find another exit. Sadly they ran into the enemy and had to split up. Hughes managed to stick with his daughters, but in the panic Juniper and Jaune were separated and led to a different path.

It was a miracle Jaune and his mom managed to make it out of the tunnels and a few miles from one of the gates of Mistral. Now here they were running to the gates with the enemy shooting behind them. The little boy could hear his mom shouting for him to keep running while turning back every few seconds to see if the army was getting any closer. Smoke filled his lungs and dirt flew into his eyes, but he ignored it and continued to grasp his mom's hand as they ran.

"We're almost there!" Juniper told her boy as they were just a few more meters to the gates.

They could hear the soldiers calling for them to quickly get in. Just as they were inches from entering Mistral's walls though, pain erupted from Jaune's abdomen that caught his breath. He could hear his mother screaming and legs giving out on him. Grasping the area where he felt the pain, his hand felt wet and warm and a little sticky. Juniper was now picking him up and dragging him inside with the Mistral soldiers giving more cover fire. As she laid him on his back behind safe walls, Jaune lifted his hand to see it was covered in blood.

"M-mom." He winced out from the immense pain.

"Shh." Juniper shook her head while putting some pressure on her son's wound.

It was slow motion for her as she saw the bullet pass right through her little boy. She was tired and low on aura. Any chance of healing his wound was lost to her. Shouting for help over the sounds of gunfire, her son was quickly fading out of consciousness as it became harder for him to breath.

"Help!" She shouted to anyone who could come to her. Looking to her son, she pressed harder into his wound to keep him from bleeding out quicker. "Stay with me, Jaune. Do not fall asleep!"

Shouting once more, she roared to the skies for anyone to come to her aid. But once more, she was ignored as the soldiers paid more attention to the enemies at their gates. Seeing her son close to dying, she felt there was one last thing she could do even with the energy she had left.

"Forgive me Jaune for what I am about to do to you." She whispered to her son while one hand off his wound to place on his head. Concentrating what aura she could muster, she recited one of the scriptures.

" _For it is in love that we walk onwards in freedom. Through this we become a guidance of courage and infinite in wisdom. Shackled by none and elusive to death. I release your soul, and by my heart, awake thee."_

Juniper could feel consciousness leaving her. Feeling her eyelids becoming heavy, she forced her self to stay awake just a little longer. The last thing she saw before succumbing to fatigue was her son's form glowing as his aura was opened, and the wound in his abdomen healing quickly. She felt relief for knowing her son was safe and would live, but guilt for what she had to do to save him.

 **Mistral Medical Ward**

A heavy pounding in his head was the first think Jaune felt as he woke up to a dark room. Moonlight spilled from the window and painted the room in a bluish hue as the lights were out. Slowly getting up, he winced from a pain in his gut. He remembered bleeding from there and passing out. Sliding a hand over it, he felt no wound or bandages covering the skin. It was just smooth and dry, but he could still remember the pain he was in. Looking around some more, he saw a door with light peeking from the bottom. Getting off the bed, he had to balance himself from feeling a bit wobbly and nauseous. As he walked to the door, he could hear people talking outside.

"He is just a child!" He heard his mom's voice snarl from behind the door.

"A child with a vast amount of aura." A gruff man's voice said.

"It had to be done." Juniper said seething. "I shouted for help and yet I went ignored. He would have died if I didn't unlock it."

"Then you should have let him die if you didn't want this."

There was a loud clatter and wood hitting flesh after the man said that. Opening the door, Jaune was beheld to the sight of his mom angrily standing over a man with a fuzzy beard with a crutch raised to smash his head in.

"Mom." He walked over to her and held her from behind.

"Jaune." Calming down a bit from seeing her son awake, Juniper lowered the crutch in her hand and turned around to hug her son. "Thank goodness you're awake."

The mother was relieved to see her son was up. For a while, she thought he was going to be in a coma despite her best to unlock his aura.

"Where are the others?" He asked after letting her go.

"They're fine sweetie." She rubbed his head and giving him a teary smile. "We've all made it. Your sisters are staying in the waiting room with your father. We're safe now."

Jaune felt lightness in his chest after she said that. Those were grand words to his ears to know they were all safe. He remembered they were running at the gates of Mistral before he got shot. But he was alive now, so were his family, and they were safe in the kingdom. The feeling soon passed once he heard a clearing of a throat. Turning to the sound, he saw the same man his mom was going to beat up.

"I'm glad to see you're fine, young man." He stated, getting a scoff from his mom. "You Arcs truly are the resilient bunch."

"Shove off Odsy." Juniper stood up straight and pushed Jaune behind her. "I've already told you I refused, so get the hint and go."

"I've heard your opinion." The man named Odsy said, not looking at her. "But I'd like to hear the opinion of your son."

"He is still just a boy!" Jaune's mom nearly roared. "I won't have you bully him into having your way!"

"The moment you unlocked his aura, you ceased his status of being 'just a boy.'" The man stated as if it were a fact. "As of now, he has the potential to be the world's greatest warrior and Mistral's saviors."

"More like another meat shield!" Juniper shot back.

As the two argued, Jaune backed away. He'd ignore them for now as seeing his sisters and dad was at the top of his mind. He didn't understand what they were talking about, but once they sorted it out he hoped they'd tell him. Walking through the hallways, he scanned the place and noticed the many people injured. Some were missing limbs while others were heavily scarred with stitches covering their faces.

After going through those hallways, he found them. They were all huddled together trying to keep each other warm from the cold room they were sleeping in. He was glad nothing bad happened to them. None of them were badly injured, but there was dirt on their faces and their hair was frizzled and carried some dried mud. Jaune hadn't looked in the mirror, but he could guess he wasn't the picture of cleanliness himself. He'd let them rest and greet them in the morning. The last thing he needed was a tidal wave of sisters squeezing the life out of him. Walking back through the hall of injured people, he made it back to his mom to see she and Odsy were waiting for him.

"Good to see you're back." Odsy greeted him once more. "Any longer and we might have gone to look for you."

"I just went to go check on my sisters." He told the two.

"A family man. I like that." The man nodded, kneeling down to be at his eye level. He had to tread carefully as Juniper might have snapped if he made one wrong move. "You noticed all those injured people too, right? It's hard to ignore them."

"Don't try to guilt him into following you Odsy." The mother behind him growled. "Get to the point or leave."

"Very well." The man held up his hands in surrender. "Jaune, I want you to join my force. I'm not sure if Mistral will be standing once this war is over, and I want to save what we have left of it through you and the others. You are the future of our nation."

This was sudden for Jaune. A week ago, he'd been laughing with friends and wondering what he'd be doing with his sisters after Mistral pushed back their invaders. Now here he was being given an offer to help save Mistral. The hero in him told him to take the leap, but the rational side of him told him to think it over after pointing out all the friends and people he'd lost.

"But I've never fought before." Jaune said, moving back a bit. "I haven't been trained or anything."

"You don't have to worry about it." Odsy assured him. "I will train you. Teach you how to survive and turn you into a Hunter like your mom."

Looking to his mom, Jaune saw a conflicted look on her face. Sending her a look of his own to ask what he should do, she nodded for him to make his own choice. She was against the thought of him going into war, but she couldn't force him to reject Odsy's offer. It would be hypocritical of her to do so when she rebuked her father for all her choices in life and becoming the first female Arc to become a Huntress.

"Will there be others like me?" Her son asked, trying to get more info before he chose his answer. "Others my age, I mean."

"A few." The scruffy man replied. "Some of them aren't like you though. They haven't had their aura unlocked."

There was that word again – Aura. Jaune didn't know what it was, but he still heard his mom and the man in front of him arguing about it. "What is aura?"

That question surprised the man. Odsy glanced at Juniper to see her not meeting his eye. If she wasn't going to tell him, he guessed he could do it for her.

"Aura is the manifestation of one's soul." He said the textbook answer. Seeing Jaune wasn't getting it, he thought of putting it into a simpler way. "It's what saved you from the bullet wound. All huntsmen have aura and use it to do amazing things like run faster, hit harder, and block attacks normal people couldn't. It's how your mother is able to be so strong."

Even with all these answers, Jaune was still unsure whether to join or not. The look on his face told Odsy he wasn't ready to make the decision just yet.

"You don't have to answer me now." He got up after patting Jaune on the shoulder. "I know it's a big decision for you, so I'll let you mull it over. Just know that if you've finally decided to join my force, go to Haven Academy and ask for me. The program starts in a week."

After saying that, Odsy left the son and mother to leave the medical ward. Things would have been a lot easier if Juniper wasn't present. With just a slew of sweet words spouting glory and honor, he would have had the young Arc boy following him. No matter though. He had other children to recruit – the young redhead girl the boy's age seemed like a promising person to recruit.

It was just mother and son standing in the hallway now. There was an awkward silence between them as they mulled over what had happened. Not knowing what to say, Jaune went back into the room he was staying in. As of now, he had a lot to think about.

"Wake up!" Lily cheerily shook her brother awake as the sun rose.

Opening his eyes, Jaune saw his sisters were surrounding his bedside looking at him expectantly. He could guess his mom told them he was awake. Getting out of bed, he had to suppress from slapping his forehead when they cheered for him. He knows they mean well, but having your six older sisters make him feel so small would always get to him. He's twelve, not four! This was like the school bully and the girl who had a crush on him all over again. Worse was the girl he had a crush on – so many snooping. Noticing they were still eyeing him, he knew what they wanted.

"Okay." He opened his arms wide with a tired smile. He couldn't really sleep with last night still fresh in his mind. "Bring it in."

The moment he said that, he was surrounded with tons of arms squishing him. Compared to the cold room they were in, a nice warm hug was something that was welcomed. It was also nice to feel his baby sister's hand tugging on his hair. This wasn't a dream and they were all alive.

"Where're mom and dad?" His question was muffled by shoulder covering his mouth. After they released him, he took note of the change in their faces. "What?"

"They're currently fighting. Not in the war!" Seeing Jaune's face turn to panic, Rouge quickly added the last part to calm him. "This morning, mom took dad aside to tell him something and he stormed out angry."

Jaune had an idea of what they might have been arguing about. He still hadn't thought of his decision yet, but maybe having a talk with both his mom and dad would help him set his decision. Not wanting to stay in the room the whole day, the eight siblings walked out to the rest of Mistral. Jaune felt he was ready to go out, and the room would have been of better use to someone far more injured than he. On the way, they'd also be looking for their parents.

As they stepped out of the hospital, the sounds of war sounded outside the walls. The civilians walking around held gasmasks and helmets just in case the alarms sounded for them to put them on. After walking a few streets, the siblings found a nice café to sit down and order some breakfast. Sadly, the only thing they could get was some grits and oatmeal that didn't have a nice flavor. Still, if it was all they could get for now they'd stomach it. While they waited for their food, the sisters asked him how he and their mom were able to make it in. They also asked of what it felt like when he got hurt.

"How did you guys get here?" Jaune asked after finishing his story. He didn't want to be the only one with a story to tell.

"Dad led us." Misty beat everyone to the answer. "We were able to sneak by the army and dad took a few of them out on the way."

"Dad did that?" He said, not imagining their hunter dad doing something like that. He knew his dad was strong, but against people like the Atlas and Vale military, it seemed out there. "Really?"

"That's right." Rouge said in a far away tone. "I forgot you, Lily, and Opal were born before he quit. See, dad used to be in the Mistral Military. When it was just Misty, Amber, and me dad used to be a ranger for the army. After Opal though, he retired to take care of us since he kept getting mom pregnant. He even swore that Lily was supposed to be the last child, but then you came along."

Never before did Jaune wish to unhear what his oldest sister just told him. Besides finding out that his dad used to be in the military, the rest he didn't need to know. It sort of begged the question whether he and Viola were accidents now! Looking to Opal, he could guess she wanted to unhear the whole thing too. It got worse when he saw the three eldest were grinning from ear to ear. It was the kind of smile that said it was the truth, but that it was fun to tell them.

Moving far away from that, they talked about other things that were far away from the war and their parents' failure to pull out. And now Jaune had the mental scarring of Juniper shouting at Hughes for shooting inside her. Curse his mind and it's current interest in sex! After their food arrived, he gave half of it to Opal since he couldn't stomach any more. He should've just stayed in bed today.

So turns out the food they had wasn't so bad. Jaune wasn't all for oatmeal, but the grits was surprisingly tasty even though he only had a bit. He guessed since soldiers also ate there from time to time, it was better to have something light that also gave full energy. It didn't stop the older girls from asking for some fruits though. After leaving, they went back to the medical ward where their parents were waiting for them. As they got there, they noticed the two were fixed on staring at Jaune.

"Girls, please go inside for a bit." Hughes told his daughters. "We need to have a word with your brother."

"Is Jaune in trouble?" Amber asked with worry.

"No." Their dad shook his head while pointing to the entrance. "We just need to talk with him about something important."

The stare both parents were giving them meant it wasn't up for debate and there would be no back talk. While Rouge and Misty may have been nearing their twenties, they knew by now that if it wasn't to be shared then it wasn't to be shared. Taking the others with them, they spared their brother one last glance before the door closed on them.

After the girls were gone, Hughes knelt down to his son and looked him over. After he heard about the gunshot wound, he nearly lost his cool and wanted to run out to the battlefields to find the one who shot his boy. But now he was afraid – afraid of what his son could now become.

"Tell me, Jaune." Hughes started. "Have you made your decision yet?"

"I still don't know." Jaune answered honestly. "What should I do?"

At this point, Hughes didn't know what his son should do. This wasn't simply telling him what to wear or what to buy. This was his future! To pick one or the other would bring up consequences.

"It's up to you to decide." He told him. "Just know that your choices will have their own consequences."

"So if I choose to go?" Jaune asked, wanting to know what could happen. Both parents were proud he was trying to get the answers before jumping in. Lord knows he could be brash from time to time. Turning to his wife, Juniper nodded knowing she was best to answer.

"If you decide to enter Odsy's call, you'll have to stay here in Mistral while we go back and rebuild Ansel." She said, getting Jaune to gasp. At least they knew he didn't like the thought of never seeing them. "You'll be trained to be a Hunter or a soldier. And if this war keeps going, you'll have to fight in the battlefields. If the war ends while you're still in the Academy you'll have a team, you'll make some new friends, and you'll probably get a girlfriend too if you stay amazing as you are. You'll graduate and become a licensed Hunter of Mistral."

She wasn't throwing fear at him to make him refuse. She was honestly telling him the possibilities he'd have if he chose to go. It sounded nice, but he also wanted to know what would happen if he refused.

"If you decide not to go, you'll have to be trained." Hughes told his son straight and placed his hands on his shoulders. "Jaune, you have aura now. That means you're dangerous to normal people. I know you're not bad, but other people will look to you in fear and hate knowing you have that power. Your mother and I can help you to control this power. You won't have to go to war when they call for you since you wouldn't be considered a licensed Hunter in their eyes. You would be a free man."

The choice now was what could Jaune live with. Could he go on living with the people fearing and hating him while being free from war? Or would he take the chance to leave his family and train to be licensed Hunter of Mistral? And would this war even be over while he was still training? This helped him a bit, but he still needed to think it over properly. Turning away from his parents, he told them he'd be taking a walk to clear his head. Thankfully, they agreed to let him go off on his own.

 **Streets if Mistral**

Jaune walked a few blocks trying to weigh his pros and cons. While the prospect of making new friends was nice, he's never been too far from his siblings and would miss his family if he stayed in Mistral. Plus he didn't know how long this war was so going to last so the thought of being shipped out to fight early was still looming over his head. He could be free but could he also live being a danger to those around him? What if he accidentally did something to hurt his siblings? His parents said they could help him, but how long would that take? His mom had to go to an academy for four years to be considered good – just his parents teaching him might take longer.

Mulling things over some more, his thought process was stopped when he heard crying. Following the source, he saw a girl with orange hair being shoved around by some kids while another boy was being held back from saving her. They looked dirty and tired too.

"Leave her alone!" The boy magenta eyes shouted, trying to pull himself away from the larger boy holding him. One of the other kids responded by punching him in the jaw.

This wasn't right to Jaune. There were people suffering and these kids were picking on others? Wasn't there enough pain going on now? Feeling righteous fury fueling him, he charged ahead to go and help the two.

"Raaaah!" Shouting a battle cry, Jaune charged the boy kicking the girl while she was down and jumped his back. Unlike the Atlas soldier he jumped, this boy was smaller and wasn't strong enough to carry his weight. As they both fell to the ground, Jaune hammered his fist into the boy's head. He only got at least five hits in before his friends pulled him off.

What happened next was the obvious outcome Jaune knew would happen. The other kids were holding him back while the big guy got back up with a broken nose. Of course this was going to happen. Jaune's never been in a real fight before and his sisters and friends always had his back when bullies were a problem. Struggling from the two boys holding his arms back, he shut his eyes when the big kid reeled his fist back to punch him.

CRACK!

Jaune felt something hit his cheek, but it wasn't him who was tearing up in pain. Opening his eyes, he saw the big guy was nursing his hand and noticed it looked like his fingers were bent in the wrong way. The next thing that happened was his friends letting go of his arms to help the bully up. As they ran away, Jaune went to go check on the other two kids that were left behind. It was always the same with bullies once their alpha was taken down.

"Are you guys okay?" He asked them, getting the ginger haired girl to run and hide behind the boy who went to comfort her. Jaune sighed as he got what his dad meant by people fearing him. At least the boy smiled at him in appreciation. "Take care then."

Sprinting away, Jaune didn't notice the boy reaching out to him or the girl fishing something from the back of her friend's back pocket. The ginger haired girl wanted to give him a piece of candy they saved up as thanks, but the little Arc ran off before she could give it to him. They didn't even get his name.

"Let's go Nora." The boy led the girl away from the alley they were in. If luck was on their side, they might run into the boy again in the near future.

Back with Jaune, he was going to Haven Academy to meet up with Odsy. He finally had his answer for the scruffy man.

Finding the Academy was easy since it was nearly the biggest building with a tower. All Jaune had to do was keep an eye on it while walking the streets and he wouldn't get lost. Walking to the entrance, he looked in awe at the many warriors inside healing and resting from the battle. There was an assortment of people in different colors with no weapon looking the same as the other. There were men who looked fierce and women who looked beautiful while wielding swords and guns that were nearly two times their size. Going to the clerk, he tapped on the bell to get her attention.

"Can I help you?" She asked him in a sweet tone.

"I-I'm looking for Mr. Odsy." He mumbled.

"Odsy?" The clerk scratched her chin, not knowing of the name. Saying it a few more times, she found something that clicked. "Oh! General Odyssey!"

Stepping behind the counter, the clerk guided Jaune deeper into the academy until they reached a mahogany door with the title 'General' on the door. Knocking on it, Jaune heard the familiar voice of Odsy on the other side telling them to enter.

"Sorry to bother you General, but there's a child here that is looking for you." The clerk bowed before showing Jaune in.

"Mr. Arc." The general smiled at seeing Jaune before him. Getting up from his chair, he moved to stand before him. "Thank you for showing him in Shelly. You can leave us."

After Shelly had left, Odyssey offered Jaune to sit down.

"I think I'll stand sir." Jaune said with a nervous tone. "I'm here because I thought of the offer you gave me."

"You finally have your answer, right?" The older man grinned while leaning back in his chair.

"I have sir." Jaune nodded while twiddling with his thumbs. "I've thought about it for a while now, and I've decided…"

Leaning forward, the general smiled feeling what the boy was going to say.

"I don't want to join the force." He finished, getting the man to frown slightly.

"I won't say I'm disappointed." The older man sighed while leaning back once more. "I would have really liked you to join my force. You looked very promising. You have your own reasons and I won't pry. Just know if you ever change your mind, you can always come back."

"I had a talk with my parents of what happens if I join you or not." Jaune said, getting the general to listen. "They told me how great it would be to join in and learn how to be a Hunter and soldier for Mistral. Dad even said I'd be dangerous to those around me because I have aura now. He said normal people will be afraid of me, and he was right. People were afraid."

"And you still won't join?"

"Yes." Jaune nodded while giving the man a small smile. "I came here because I thought you deserved an answer."

"That's very kind of you Jaune." Odsy nodded at the boy's manners. "I just hope you're not going to regret your decision."

"I won't sir." After saying that, the little blonde left the general alone in the office.

After the door clicked shut and he felt no one was going to come in, the smile Odyssey held fell to a hard grimace. He didn't get an Arc in his recruiting. And it wasn't just any Arc; it was _that_ man's son too. He did his research on the family. He combed through their histories. That boy could be molded into the perfect soldier if he was put under him. He already had five kids who were signed up, and Jaune was meant to lead them.

' _It's fine.'_ The general sighed mentally. _'I will make do with what I have.'_

Pulling out a folder from underneath his desk, he read over it once more. On the cover was the name of the program he was planning to subject the children to. Project: Garden. It would take time, but he'd bring it to a success. The three kingdoms would tremble and think twice before messing with Mistral again. Looking at his applicants, he stopped at a certain person.

"Pyrrha Nikos." He mumbled, reading her papers. She wasn't an Arc, but she just may do better.

 **Two Years Later**

 **Forests near Ansel**

A fourteen-year-old Jaune Arc walked slowly across the forest with his feet crunching the leaves beneath him. He cursed mentally at being too noisy. His target was nowhere in sight, but that didn't mean it wasn't close. His instinct told him it was near, watching his every move and waiting for him to let his guard down. Taking one more step forward, he felt how soft the ground was beneath him. Too soft!

Jumping back, he dodged a white snake head rearing out to bit his neck. It was a small Taijitu but that didn't mean it was fast. Not taking his eyes off the Grimm, he stayed alert as he looked for the second head. Hearing a hiss behind him, the blonde rolled out of the way as the black head tried to catch him from behind.

Pulling his sword out, he slashed at its neck and managed to sever it from its body. As the black part writhed around wildly, he turned back to the white one and froze to see it coming at him in mid-strike. Luckily he was saved from an early death as an arrow found it's way into its eyes and lodged it into the ground. Looking to his savior, it was one of the hunters of Ansel who survived the Color Wars.

"Thank you!" Jaune gasped as his heart rate was returning to normal.

"Hrm." The older man nodded, turning away with a grumble. Lately a lot of the adults were angry as all of Anima was in unrest.

It's been a year and a half since the Color Wars ended and a year since all of Anima was put into civil war. After the fighting between Vale and Atlas ceased with the two forming an alliance, the Inner Circle was created. The offer was given to Mistral as compensation for what happened during the war, and the kingdom agreed much to the distrust of the rest of Anima.

It wasn't just Anima that was in an uproar. Vacuo was currently rioting against Vale as they were not included in the joining of the Inner Circle. The two kingdoms shared the continent of Sanus, and yet they made it seem like they were separate. To make things worse, Vale was pushing to widen their circle by taking part of Vacuo's lands and claiming it as theirs – the land being the ones which the people of Vacuo used to help shelter the refugees of Vale during the war.

Away from Sanus, Atlas was having its own troubles from both the people of Anima and Menagerie. Faunus protested against the unjust treatment of their people in the cold lands while the people of Anima were against the censorships of their art and culture.

To Jaune, the war hadn't ended. It just broke up into tiny pieces and was fragmented across the whole of Remnant. And where was he in all this? On the rebel side keeping Grimm at bay from his people while they rioted against Mistral to bring back the kingdom to it's former glory. It hurt him that friends he made in the kingdom turned into enemies just from picking a side to stand with. At least his family still stood together. They had to since they lost their dad on their return back to Ansel.

It all happened so fast. Hughes was training Jaune on outdoor survival in an open field after Juniper taught him how to control his aura. When his dad walked off, there was a click and a loud explosion. The next thing Jaune knew, he was blown back and the area where his dad was standing was replaced by a huge crater. Hughes Arc had stepped on a hidden mine that the enemy left behind. After that, the experienced went off in search of hidden explosive to carefully disarm them. It was soon reported that a total of six hundred and twenty four were found surrounding the forest areas – majority of which belonged to Atlas.

With Hughes dead, Jaune had to become the new man of the house. Juniper tried to hold on strong, but with the loss of her husband, the reality sunk in that death was a lot closer than she thought. She retired from be a huntress to stay and be a mother to her children while still teaching Jaune how to control his aura. So far, Viola's never been happier to have her mom stay with her.

He and his mom weren't the only ones who changed though. Rouge and Misty took part in rioting against the kingdom while Amber volunteered to be a nurse at the village hospital. As for Lily, Opal, and Vera, they were helping Juniper at the house. They made a farm growing mostly fruits and vegetables to keep themselves fed. Vera even took to raising chickens nicely and brought in some profit selling eggs and poultry.

So here Jaune was, a young rebel trying to protect the people. He was a soldier and at the same time a Hunter. Looking back on it, he's glad he didn't join General Odyssey's force. It would have meant going against his family and all that he believed in. The general was also an enemy now as he led his troops to protect Mistral. There was enough media evidence to prove where the man stood. The young blonde just hoped there would be a time where all of Anima would soon come to a compromise.

Walking back home after another successful Grimm killing, Jaune was surprised to see his two older sisters were back from rioting after being gone for a few days. Usually whenever they went out, they'd be gone for at least a week before returning home. Lately it hasn't been a nice get together since their mom didn't agree with her two eldest running off into danger. He just hoped today would be peaceful. Putting his hunting gear in the shed and keeping Crocea Mors on his back, he entered their rebuilt house to see to no surprise that Rouge and their mom were having an argument with a piece of paper on the kitchen table.

"-answer is no!" Juniper slammed her hands on the table. Noticing that Jaune had returned, she tried to grab for the paper but Rouge was quick to grab it from her. "Rouge, don't you dare!"

"No mom!" Her eldest said while walking up to Jaune. "It's his decision to make."

"Rouge, I swear-!" Whatever their mom was going to say was halted when her daughter shoved the paper into Jaune's hands.

Looking the paper over, it was a poster with an image of Mistral's emblem in the center. On the bottom were bold words that read:

 **JOIN THE CAUSE!**

 **BREAK OUT OF THE CIRCLE**

"We want you to join us Jaune." Rouge told him. She's never noticed before, but her little brother had grown a bit taller and was now close to being taller than her. "Our peaceful riots can't keep going with how the task force keeps pushing us down."

"Rouge!" Juniper growled, shaking in anger.

"I need your help." The older sister continued, looking into Jaune's eyes. "If there was anyone else to ask I'd get them to help me, but they're all scared."

Jaune knew the dangers of going to the riots. The people weren't too radical and would just wave their flags while singing for freedom, but whenever the task force got involved things then got ugly. Media showed teargas, police brutality, and fire-hoses being blasted by the rebels before it got censored. It was why their mom and Rouge were always arguing whenever she'd return. Juniper was scared for her two girls and wanted them to leave it to the others, but Rouge and Misty were defiant. The reason none of them were hearing from Misty was because she was just the songwriter and the designer for their posters and flags.

"Get out." Juniper snarled. Yanking Rouge by the arm, she started pulling her to the door all the while ignoring her daughter's plea to let go. She might have retired, but she was still strong enough to carry twelve crates if she felt like it. As they reached the door, Juniper pulled it open and threw her daughter out.

"Mom, please!" Rouge begged, banging her hands on the door. "Please mom!"

"Go to your protest groups!" She shouted in return with her back leant up against the door. After the banging had stopped, Juniper sunk to the floor and started tearing up at what she had done. She'd just thrown her own daughter out of their house.

Feeling a hand rest on her lap, she looked up to see her other children giving her a worried stare. Latching on to them, she sobbed into Lily's shoulder while regretting what she'd done. She wished she could have taken it all back but what's done is done. She was just so angry that her daughter would try to have her siblings join in something dangerous that she snapped and saw red.

"Mom." Jaune patted her back, trying to get up.

"Go after her." She whispered with tears still leaking down her face. "Go after her and keep her safe."

"You mean-?" Her boy said with wide eyes. After she gave him a nod in affirmative, he tightened the buckle that held Crocea Mors. He was in conflict whether to join Rouge in her rioting, but this was a mission from his mom and teacher to go and protect her. "I won't let you down mom."

"You never have." She kissed him on the cheek for good luck. Next to her, Viola and Lily nodded for him to hurry on. "Now go quickly while you can still catch her."

Nodding, Jaune was soon out the door to go collect his things from the shed. He didn't know what to be expecting on the way so he packed his hunting gear just to be safe. Going around the village and asking for sightings of his sister, he got a few negatives while those who did know her pointed him in her direction. She must have been stricken with grief since the people said she was sprinting far away from home. After getting some more fingers in the direction she was going, he had an idea of where she was headed.

Arriving at where he thought she'd be, Jaune stood in front of the church. Rouge wasn't always a religious person, but she did enjoy the silence and privacy the place gave. Walking in, he smirked at knowing he was right. Sitting in the dark corner while still crying quietly was his oldest sister with hand covering her eyes. Quietly walking to her, he sat down and waited for her to realize he was there.

"What are you doing here?" She asked while still covering her eyes. Looks like he still couldn't get by her.

"I'm here to make sure you're okay." He answered, scooting a bit closer to her.

"Did mom send you?" She asked, putting her hand down to show her puffy red eyes. "Don't lie. It's obvious she did."

There went Jaune's prospect of lying. At least he knew she wasn't broken. "So are you going to be fine?"

"What do you think?" Rouge snapped before biting her cheek. Sighing, she tried to calm down a bit more. "I'm sorry. It's not you I'm mad at. It's not even mom."

"So you're okay that mom threw you out?" He immediately wished he didn't ask that because of how bad it sounded.

"No way." She said while giving him a blank stare. "That, I'm holding over her head until I've forgotten about it. But I can understand why she snapped."

Seeing as Jaune wasn't going to be saying anything anytime soon, she guessed it was best to explain. "I'm mad at myself, okay? I was so pathetic back there. I'm supposed to be the older sister and make sure you don't get caught up in stupid shit; and there I was begging you to jump in with me."

Seeing she was still looking down, Jaune didn't say anything in fear of messing up his words. Instead he leaned in to give her a hug. It must have been the right thing too since his big sister giggled while messing with his hair.

"So are you coming back to the house?" He said after letting go.

"What do you think?" She replied with a small frown. "After that freak show, it'd be awkward to go back. I think I'll just go back to the rioting camp and see if there are any tents I can squeeze into."

"Then I guess we've got a bit of walking to do before it gets dark, right?" Jaune replied while getting up.

Walking out of the church, he didn't notice his sister stiffening up at what he said. Quickly following after him, she pulled him back to face her.

"What do you mean 'we'?" Rouge said, hoping she didn't hear wrong. "You're going back to the house while I go in the opposite direction."

"Can't." Jaune shook his head while going to the exit out of Ansel. "I sort of gave mom my word that I'd protect you. I can't be doing that if I don't know where you are."

Groaning at the whole 'Arc's never going back on their word' shtick, she pulled him along since he was going in the wrong direction. One of these days that Arc way was going to get someone from their family killed, and she wouldn't suffer from that. It's basically why she never promised anyone anything. If they really wanted her complete word on it, then they'd have to get it in paper with her signature and have it stamped, signed by a third party witness from both sides, and laminated.

 **Riot Camp**

Rouge felt safe with her brother with her. She wouldn't admit it in case he got a big head from her praising him, but she did. Jaune grew up since their dad died and took training with their mom seriously. He is still that awkward guy that she grew up with, but just a bit more combat trained and braver. Who knew the little boy she saved from bullies would turn into this guy walking next to her.

"So this is the camp." He looked around, eyeing the many people sitting outside their tents. "Seems nice."

"We're doing things peacefully." Rouge said with some pride while guiding him to where Misty was. "Look around you Jaune. Humans and faunus working together in harmony for freedom. Way better than what those White Fang guys are doing in Menagerie."

Nodding, Jaune agreed that things looked peaceful. It was like how things were before the Color Wars reached their home. People were laughing and sharing stories with one another like nothing was wrong. Even with the bruises and bandages, they still looked happy. Keeping up with Rouge, they made it to some makeshift hut held together by cables and rope. Walking in, the brother saw Misty with goggles and a mask was spray painting something onto some clothes. Her once clean blonde hair was matted with tons of colors probably by all the paint flying in the air.

"Yo Mist." Rouge called out to her. "Look who I got."

Looking up from her work, the second oldest took her stuff off to show a smile to her little brother.

"Jaune!" Misty ran up to him to pull in a hug. "Ohmygosh, you're actually here!"

"Hi Misty." He laughed, returning the hug. He always preferred her over Rouge since she liked to give and take hugs. "You're looking colorful today."

"Ah, shut up you." She squeezed tighter. Letting him go, she looked him up and down. "Wow you're getting taller! And was that muscle I felt?"

"Pfft!" Rouge chuckled. "Yeah right! He'll always be our scrawny brother to me."

Yeah, Jaune will always prefer Misty over Rouge. At least she was nicer!

"I still can't believe mom agreed to let him come here." Misty said in awe. That got Rouge to flinch a bit. "I guess I was wrong."

"Yeah." The eldest said awkwardly. Coughing into her hand, she decided to change topic. "So what's that you're working on?"

"One of the flags." She said while going back to working on it. "By the way, Jaune. Change out of those clothes – I got you something else to wear."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing now?" The young brother asked, pinching at his hunting gear. He thought he looked badass in his clothes – at least that's what their mom said.

Tsking at her brother's horrible taste in style, she put down the spray can to point out what was wrong. "That puffy vest you're wearing is like two times your size it makes you look fat. Also it clashes so badly with the armor you have underneath, it's like I'm looking at some sort of accident. Like a really really bad one. And don't get me started on your shoes!"

How could Jaune forget? Misty was nice, but when it came to fashion, she did not hold her punches. Not even with her own siblings and parents. For now, he'd tune her out and let her get it out of her system.

"-so if you're going to be rioting with us, you might as well look the part You can keep your armor though." She finished, grabbing his arm and sitting him down. Taking the clothes she was working on, she put them in his hands. "Go on. Put them on!"

"I'm not changing in front of you guys!" He blushed red while standing up. That got him an eyeroll from both his sisters.

"Please." Rouge scoffed. "I've seen your dongle so many times from changing your stinky butt."

"But I'm the one who was always changing him when mom and dad were out." Misty pointed out with a pout. Her stupid older sister didn't want anything to do with changing his diapers. Something about Opal being the last straw.

"Yeah, but I watched." She shot back while glaring at Jaune. "It was tiny. Like this."

Jaune's face scrunched up at how his sister was pinching her fingers so close together. He get's she was older and all that, but she could be a real jerk sometimes. Her being nice was like a solar eclipse – not always there, but when it shows it's amazing. Walking off, he went to go find a private place to go and change.

"It's worth pointing out that you only watched from the other room away." Misty said to her older sister by a year.

"I know." Rouge smirked while taking a seat. "But he doesn't know that, right?"

After a few minutes, Jaune came back dressed in the outfit Misty gave him. He looked like an ordinary civilian with just a regular fit shirt and jeans, but the armor and sword showed he wasn't. Although, there was something that threw it off for Misty.

"Why are you still holding your bow and arrows?" She asked with a raised brow. "Were you not listening to me?"

Sweating bullets at being caught, Jaune slowly unclipped his quiver and folded his bow to put inside. She was still glaring at him, but he got lucky once she let it go.

"I told you Jaune, we're a peaceful group." Rouge reminded him while still sitting down. "It's not in us to shoot at them lethally."

"So what am I being here for?" He asked, taking a seat across from her.

"Defending." She answered, leaning back and rummaging around for something. "We can defend ourselves against the police and some of the civilian militia, but once they bring out the task force and hunter trained, it's a tough time. That's where you and a few brave others come in."

"…And how many brave others are there?" Jaune asked, wanting to know how many had his back.

"Plus you? Three."

Looks like Jaune would have to put in good word in for Rouge when they got back home. She was telling the truth when she said they were hard-pressed and desperate. After watching her rummage behind her back a bit more, he saw her pull out a survival slingshot.

"This should do it." She said, handing the item over to him. "You know how to use one, right?"

"What happened to being peaceful?" He asked, looking the weapon over. It wasn't one of those toys little boys played with to hit cans and birds. This thing could kill rabbits and men if put in the right hands.

"It's only if the ammo is lethal." Rouge pointed out, pulling out a small sling bag. "It's mostly hacky sacs and rubber pellets in there. A few powdered too to blind them and paint them up a bit. It'll hurt, but it won't kill. Like I said: peaceful."

Opening the bag, Jaune saw a lot of sacs and pellets. They were the kind you could find in toy stores. Taking one out, he felt the buckwheat inside and how compact it was.

"Alright. I'm in." Jaune agreed, taking the stuff.

"Good." Rouge smiled. "Keep the sword though. When Odsy's men get involved, you'll need all the defense you can get."

After that, Misty came from behind to squeeze the ever-living life out of him.

"I'm so glad you decided to join us!" She squealed while nuzzling her face into his back. "You have no idea how lonely it gets staying in this hut."

"Oh yeah." Rouge piped in. "Mist, I'm gonna be crashing in here with you. While getting Jaune, mom threw me out of the house. Like literally threw me out and locked the door."

"But where am I going to sleep?" Jaune asked, not wanting to share a tent with a stranger.

"It'll be a bit cramped, but I think we'll all be able to share." Misty thought while looking at the small cot she was using.

"No way am I having him sandwiched between us!" Rouge pointed to her brother. "He's probably in puberty and constantly horny!"

That comment got both her siblings to blush.

"Gross/Ew!" They gagged at the thought. Sharing a glance, both got even redder while turning away from each other.

"Oh my gosh, you two were really thinking about it." Rouge gasped with a hand over her mouth.

What came next was the two trying to defend themselves while explaining how wrong she was. In all honesty though, Rouge wouldn't mind sharing with her brother. It was just always fun riling him up. It brought her back to a time when things were peaceful and she had her whole family without the arguments.

 **In Haven**

"Tomorrow is your test run, Pyrrha." Odsy said to a redheaded girl. "Are you ready?"

She had her hair in a high ponytail and wore her combat gear proudly. Tomorrow was her first time to be going solo without her team. For a while now, she's been hidden in the shadows leading her team on missions against the rebels. But this was her chance to show them why she was the leader of the Garden.

She was Pyrrha Nikos, The Life of the Garden.

"Yes sir. I am ready."

 **END**

 **AN: Cliffhanger? Yes, yes it is.**

 **If you're curious on Pyrrha's clothes, think of the battle clothes from Assassination classroom but more white than blue. There are some hints in this to what comes into the future, so I hope you're all taking notes.**

 **Hope you liked it. This is still just the beginning, and it'll keep growing. This is Aloehisja saying …I need some sleep.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or Metal Gear**

 **Chapter 3:** Evil Woman

It was chaos as Jaune ran through the streets of Mistral. Once upon a time, he walked them a child hiding from a war – today he was running from the authorities as they chased him along with his comrades for protesting. It's been eleven months and with all that's happened, they must have finally went too far since they brought Taiyang Xiao Long to bring them in. Luckily he was able to shoot him a couple of times as he was close to getting one of the protesters. It was a bit hilarious to see the proud Hero of Vale covered in pink powder and a yellow splotch on the crotch – he felt a bit bad for the last one though.

"Stop in the name of the law!" One of the officers shouted, shooting after them with real bullets.

The blonde's heartbeat was racing as the bullets missed him, but he cursed as a few of his comrades were grazed. Glancing back, he tossed a canister that exploded on contact with the ground in front of the officers. With the loud coughing and wheezing, he didn't have to turn around to know they were hit. One of the newest items from raiding Mistral's weapon areas were the smoke bombs. After a bit of tampering and some reverse engineering, the riot team's best were able to make them a ton more colorful.

After escaping the gates into a secret pathway leading to the camp, Jaune and comrades laugh in success of getting away. Rouge and Misty take off their cowls and embrace their brother in joy.

"You brilliant you!" Misty kissed his cheek, squeezing him tighter to her chest. "See Rouge. He's our little champion."

"Yeah, whatever." The eldest laughed, ruffling her brother's hair. Helping some of their other friends back to camp, they brought them to the medic tent to get treated.

Rouge couldn't believe things were going their way now. After the whole Outer Circle's Champion propaganda came out, tons of other villages rose up to join them. And it all started when her little brother joined them.

Most of the protesters weren't fighters. Even when they went to sing and riot in the streets, there was a fear for their lives. But with the feeling of someone looking out for them, there grew inspiration and imitation. Others seeing someone so young fight against the authorities sent a ripple throughout the Outer Circles for more people to join in. It wasn't enough though with all these new people defending them as they protested – they needed a face to follow. So, Misty had the idea to create their own champion. After stealing an Atlesian flag and painting Mistral's symbol on, it was put on Jaune to wear as his cape and hood.

Reaching their base of operations, it was bustling with people in different colors working left and right.

"The fake info on our champion was leaked." A woman reported, getting a few chuckles from the crowd. "Those police are going to be so pissed looking for some champion that doesn't exist."

"The raid was successful too." A lanky man said, presenting the bags of stolen police goods. They weren't stealing anything too dangerous, mostly tear gas and smoke bombs with the occasional beanbag grenades. Despite the huge number of people, they haven't crossed the line to lethal killing.

Today's operation was a success in Misty's book. A few were captured, but they had friends in the inside to help them escape. A few of the protesters they had now were defectors from the Inner Circle who were against Atlas law being put into their city. It was bound to happen since Mistral was more liberal than Atlas to begin with. This is exactly what they were protesting about – their freedom of their expressions and their culture. At least that's what she and Jaune believed.

As Jaune took off his hood, Misty saw he had a small bruise on his cheek that was turning purple.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt?" She asked, poking the thing to see how bad it was. He winced a bit, but he didn't whine about it like when he was younger.

"He's fine, Mist." Rogue pulled her away from him. "You need to stop babying him so much. Now go wash up."

Shooing her away to go get cleaned, the eldest pulled Jaune close to look his face over. Scanning him from top to bottom, she clicked her tongue when she spotted a nasty piece on his neck. "I know you're supposed to protect us and all, but can you not get hurt doing it?"

Pulling her hands away from his face, Jaune rubbed the spot where he was bruised.

"I'm trying, but you guys aren't making it easy for me you know." He muttered with a small smirk. "What happened to just protesting and running when things got heavy?"

"Plans change, bro." She shrugged, motioning to their improved base. "We only ran because we had little numbers. Now that we have an equal amount to their force, we don't have to shy away when the going gets tough."

The blonde was a bit skeptical on all this. If there were enough people protesting now, why did they have to stay? It's not like the troops would fall apart if three of them left. The champion thing was just something to boost morale. Anyone could don the cape and lead them, right?

"Hey there champ." A crowd cheered as they walked into the camp. Greeting Jaune, they patted him on the back and thanked him for having their backs. A few girls even offered to let him share their tent with them. It wasn't like he could do anything with Rouge or Misty keeping an eye on him though.

"Break it up girls. You don't want what he's holding. He's pure as the driven snow and I'm making sure he stays that way." Despite being fifteen now, he was still treated like an eight year old by his sisters.

His birthday passed a few months ago and he was able to go back home to visit their mom. Misty followed of course, but Rouge stayed behind to keep the fort down. When they came back with a cake and some party food for her, they were surprised to see their tent crudely decorated for a surprise party. And the presents were something too – mostly songs that Atlas banned now that Mistral was part of the circle. And they weren't the current ones but some of the really old ones his mom would listen to.

"Oi, champ." A burly man walked up to Jaune with a proud smile. "I got some more songs for your scroll there."

The blonde hoped there was something good. His music track could use something more from their century, but it was the thought that count. And some of the tracks weren't so bad – the three hundred out of a thousand that is. After getting the songs transferred, he went back to the tent he shared with his sisters. After some raids, they were able to get a few mattresses. It would have been considered stealing, but the owner was already stealing with the prices he had stacked – Rouge's words not his.

Entering the tent, he walked in on Misty in the middle of putting on her pants. What would have embarrassed him some time ago was now just a normal occurrence between the two. By now, Jaune was desensitized to it all as it became a daily occurrence.

"Is the stream free?" He asked, grabbing his towel and extra clothes.

"It was when I was going in. I saw a few people heading in though. It's the girls turn so you'll have to wait."

They may be protesters and liberals, but they still had their modesty and shame. There was a small stream close by that people would collect water from or just straight up bathe in. After a few incidents of guys walking in on girls, the females made a time schedule for when it was okay for the guys to go and use the stream. They even forced the guys to take baths daily since living close to each other meant having all the smells compiling – and none of them wanted to live with sweaty genital smells.

Laying down on his own mattress, Jaune felt the kinks in his back and shoulders pop once he fully relaxed. Rouge said freedom and equality wouldn't come as quick as they thought, but it was starting to feel like it was never going to come. Part of him felt they were just wasting their time shouting and screaming, and the only reason he stuck around was to make sure no one got hurt. Feeling a shift on the mattress, he glanced to his side to see Misty was lying next to him.

"Penny for your thoughts?" She asked, lying on her side.

"Do you ever feel like going home?" He asked, turning to face her. "And not like a day or week visit. Like just going home and staying there."

"Sometimes. I miss them all."

Jaune did too. The last time he went back he nearly didn't recognize Amber with how tall she got. And Viola – he missed so much of her first things; Her first somersault, her first day of school, her first recital. And Lily, Opal, and Vera too. He didn't know Lily cut her hair short, or that Opal gained weight, or that Vera was now working in nursing. Juniper was still the same as always, but Jaune remembered seeing the growing streak of silver in her hair. As much as he liked the company around him, he wanted to be there for the rest of his family.

"Let's go back." He said, rising up from his bed. "Let's leave this whole protesting to the others and go back to mom and the others."

"Can we do that?" Misty asked, a spark of hope in her eyes.

"Rouge says we have enough people to equal Mistral's police. It's not like things will fall with just the three of us going." Jaune said with conviction.

He was sent by his mom to keep the two of them safe. Bringing them back home seemed like the best solution to him. Rouge and their mom could even patch up their relationship and bury the hatchet. Plus, he missed some of the old codgers who helped him hunt. He missed the sparring sessions with his mom and how she instructed him how to use the sword. The whole time he was here, he's only used Crocea Mors far away to keep up his form and not get rusty.

"I'm packing my things." Misty smiled, hopping off his mattress to get her stuff ready. She was all for protesting, but she didn't realize how much she missed her sisters until she saw how big they got. New Ansel was even done rebuilding and were still looking for employees for different jobs. If she was lucky, maybe she could apply to the daycare center as a teacher.

That was one sister on the boat. Now all Jaune had to do was convince Rouge, and that was going to be a challenge. Out of the three of them, she was the most committed to the cause. She could be stubborn and impatient, and she could also be a high risk taker, and she also always had something to say to justify herself to be right…

' _I was going somewhere with this, but I can't remember.'_ Jaune thought, feeling a vein bulging in irritation. It didn't matter, he was still going to try and get Rouge to come home with him and Misty.

Marching around looking for his eldest sister, he found her walking out of someone else's tent. She had a triumphant smile on her face, and it bothered him how the other person had the same smile – especially since it was a guy. Marching up to her, he stealed himself for what he was going to say next.

"We're leaving." He stated bluntly, getting Rouge's attention. It was best to say it quick and without dragging anything on.

"Woah, Jaune. Nothing happened." She replied, motioning to her and the man behind her. On one account, he wanted to believe her. On the other, he should have been more specific.

"I meant me and Misty are leaving." He said slowly so nothing was missed. All noise around them stopped when he said that.

The look on her face shifted completely from her smirk to a devastated frown. Judging from the look on the guy's face behind her, he was devastated too.

"B-but you can't leave!" She nearly shouted, putting her hands on his shoulder. "We're so close. I can feel it. We just need to give one more push and they'll be getting rid of the circle. Just this one more raid and-"

"We miss home, Rouge." He cut her off with a firm tone. "Look at this! You said so yourself, plans change. They don't need us anymore."

"What about me?" She asked in a somber tone. It was different from the bossy older sister he was used to.

"We want you to come home with us." The little brother said, grasping her hands. "We've done enough."

Looking her in the eyes, she gave a small smile that made him believe she was with him. He wished it was that easy though.

Just when he thought he got through to her, her smile turned into a frown and her eyes turned hard and cold. "Well I haven't had enough. We've started something and put too much time into it to not see it through all the way. If you want to _abandon_ us like that, then go ahead. It's not my place to force you to stay with us. Just know you've really let me down."

Turning away from him, she marched off with the unnamed guy following close behind. Jaune didn't want it to end like this. He wanted all three of them to leave, not leave one behind!

"Rouge-"

"And give back your cloak!" She shouted, not looking his way. "That cloak is meant for our people's champion. I thought you knew what that was."

Feeling eyes on him, Jaune looked around to see tons of protesters either looking at him in despair, disgust, and even pity. It was strange how popularity could change so quickly. One minute you're on the top of the world with others cheering for you, then next you're treated like a stranger. Turning back to head to his tent, he made sure to not bump into anyone.

The walk felt longer than it should have been. With all eyes on him, he tried to ignore them without showing any weakness. By the time he entered the tent and closed it behind him, he felt a heavy weight off his shoulders. Misty was waiting for him sitting on her bed with her bag set up. She even went as far as to fold his own clothes for their trip back. She'd be an amazing wife to a lucky man the way she treated him. Out of all the sisters, she was the kindest of them all.

"I take it didn't go so well?" When everything got quiet, she knew things didn't go smoothly. When Jaune shook his head, she patted the side next to her for him to sit. "C'mere you."

Doing as she said, he felt her arms wrap around his neck as she comforted him. Turning to the cloak she made, she regretted ever making the damn thing.

' _Look Jaune. I made you this cloak from the flag they stole. You look like our own superhero. Our little champion.'_

It was meant as a joke, but Rouge turned it into something else. She didn't know what was wrong with her sister. Sure she was the oldest, but she was the most immature and hotheaded person she's met. There were so many mistakes.

"We'll stay one more night before going home early in the morn." She said into his hair. "Let's try to give her some time to come back to us. If she decides to stay, then we'll respect her wish and go our own way. Sound good?"

"Yeah." He said, muffled by her shoulder.

Letting go, he turned to his things and saw he still had a few things to pack. There were so many things the people gave him, but the way they looked at him now showed he was just an idol to them. Looking at the slingshot lying on the bed, he tossed it aside to grab his hunting gear. It's been so long since he fired an arrow he's not sure he can even do it the way he did before.

Hearing the flap to their tent open, the two saw Rouge walk in. She didn't stay long though. After scanning the place, she walked over to Jaune's side and grabbed the cloak of the Outer Circle's Champion. After getting that, she walked back out without sparing the two a glance. Misty played it off as her being in a tantrum as usual. Give it some time and she'd come back with a cool head.

For the rest of the day up until night, the two shared what they planned to do when they got home. All the while, they waited for Rouge to come in and tell them she changed her mind. But she never did.

 **Midnight**

Jaune couldn't sleep as he lay in bed waiting for Rouge to come back. Misty was resting for their early trip back home and was already tired from waiting. Feeling restless, he got out of bed to clear his mind. Walking out, the cool breeze and smell of dying campfires hit him as he explored the camp for the last time.

Looking around, he saw lights were on in the tent he saw Rouge come out of with some guy. She was probably staying there since she didn't want to confront him or Misty. Walking towards it to give her one more chance, he overheard muffled talk and sounds of metal clicking. It was the sound of a gun cocking.

Pulling the flap of the tent, he saw Rouge sitting on a chair in the middle of reloading a rifle. Across from her, the guy he saw her with was sorting through handguns. There was a table in between them showing a small mountain of guns and knives along with grenades and other dangerous weapons.

"What is this?" Jaune said, not believing what he was seeing. "Rouge, you have guns."

"Mmhm." She hummed, not turning away from stocking the weapons.

"What happened to peaceful protesting?" He asked, fully stepping into the tent. "What happened to non-lethal?!"

Scoffing at his questions, she glared at him as if he wasn't even family. "Like I said: _Plans. Change._ "

"Rouge, you can't-"

Whatever he was about to say was stopped when she stood up and aimed the gun at his head. Jaune never thought this would happened at all. Here he was standing in front of his oldest sister, and she was pointing a gun at him. He always knew Rouge was a problem child, but this was taking it too far. She would always talk down on them and be harsh in her teasing, but they all played it off as her way of rough housing. Now, he wonders if she really ever loved any of them.

"Just go back to your home." She said in a cold tone, motioning for him to get out.

Narrowing his eyes, Jaune tried to stand his ground. Slowly raising his hands to put the gun down, he felt it pressed up against his forehead. "I'll make it more clear. Get. The fuck. Out."

"Rouge, I'm your brother." He said, not believing she'd really shoot him.

"…Not anymore." Those words hurt more than anything the police have shot them with.

Gulping a lump in his throat, he backed away and left. Whatever doubt he had about leaving as soon snuffed thanks to her. Making his way to the tent, he pushed the flaps away swiftly to wake Misty up. If things were going to go that badly, he didn't want either of them to be here when all the protesters woke up and got guns in their hands.

Gathering all their things, he told her of the danger of staying in the camp. Picking up Crocea Mors and his old hunting bow, he had his sister by the arm as he pulled her out of the camp and onto the path leading back home. There were luckily no Grimm nearby, so things were going their way. The night was still cold and Jaune could feel the chilly air biting at his cheeks. Turning to Misty, she was shivering following after him in only her pajamas and boots. Taking off his hunting vest, he put it on her to keep her warm. Slowing down so they'd be walking side by side, he cupped his hands in hers to keep them both warm.

 **Near New Ansel**

 **Near Dawn**

"D-did she really pull a gun on you?" She asked as they were nearing home. They were cold, tired, and hungry since the cook refused to serve them back in the camp. He wished they brought the blanket with them, but they were already so close.

"She did." Jaune muttered, holding her up as they got to the sign of their home.

The lights from the lanterns were enough to put some warmth back into them. Signs of the sun rising were showing with how the skies were starting to light up. Even with the morning mist, Ansel still looked as peaceful as ever. Hearing the sounds of establishments opening up, the two siblings walked to a bar to get something to warm them up. They'd just get a coffee to put some energy back into their body and then go straight to their house.

"When we get back, I'm going to make breakfast for all of us." Misty said while sipping her coffee. "I've missed this place so much."

They were back home, but the two felt like things weren't the same. It felt like they lost something and couldn't get it back.

"Maybe you should wash the paint stuck in your hair." Jaune said, pinching a strand and scraping off a piece of the blue stuck to his sister's hair.

Feeling her hair and noticing some dry sweat and dirt too, she agreed to get it cleaned. It wouldn't do to hug the others being messy. Little did she know that the moment she got back from the bar's restroom, Jaune wouldn't be there waiting for her and in his place a note apologizing for running off. On the note was one short sentence.

 _I'm going to fix everything._

 **Riot Camp**

Jaune was out of breath as he got back to the camp. He had to sprint as fast as he could without expending all of his aura. His mom was a great teacher and made sure he knew how to use it wisely without wasting it. If he was going into the fray to drag his eldest sister back kicking and screaming, he needed all the protection he could get.

He was too late as all the rioters were gone and so were the weapons in the tent. There was one gun left on the table though. It was a simple black M1911 model with a few magazines left behind. He went against taking it with him. He was running in to save lives, not kill them. He just hopes his sword and shield will be enough.

Going through the trail they always used, it wasn't hard to hear the guns firing in the city or the shouting of people. It was the Color Wars all over again but this time, the people attacking Mistral was its own people. Opening up his shield, he crept his way in and made sure he was alert to all the sounds. He just needed to find Rouge, and get out of the city.

"Help!"

"Somebody get a doctor!"

"Momma!"

This was madness. Looking around him, Jaune wasn't seeing a group looking for freedom or change. It was just a bunch of bandits raiding and pillaging stores for anything they wanted.

Ducking and running through more bullets and smoke, he scanned the place to find his sister. All the while, he swung his sword at any protester holding a gun and bashed a few with his shield if he got the chance. It wasn't easy though since the police would mistake him as an enemy and try to fire on him too. Luckily he had a lot of aura to tank some of the shots that hit him. The bullets still hurt though – like getting punched by a tiny fist.

It was him against everyone else, and he only had his sword and shield to protect himself. The sun was now high and scorching on all of them as the smell of smoke and dust flew in the air. Instead of colorful powders from bean bags and hacky sacks coating people, it was just the color of blood crusting and drying as Jaune ran through the streets filled with the dying and suffering. It was the Color Wars all over again.

Ignoring the pain, he sprinted in continuous search for Rouge. She may not be high on his list of people he liked, but Misty cared for her and he didn't want her to be sad. His kind sister cared for Rouge so much she followed her to the first protest despite their mom's objection. If something happened to her, Jaune knew Misty would blame herself. He was making progress since he was cutting through the guns like butter. Normal civilian weapons weren't as sturdy as Hunter weaponry. Even the bow he used for hunting game and Grimm was specially made to last long. They needed to be when fighting Grimm off.

Turning a corner, he pulled himself back to not get hit from a spray of bullets. He found his sister, and she was in the middle of giving suppression fire as protesters made their way into Haven Academy. She was also wearing the champion cloak with the hood down to show everyone she was the champion.

Sprinting around the area, he managed to get to the entrance and knock down one of the grunts giving cover. Throwing his shield at the other grunt close by, Jaune's training from his mom was coming back like riding a bicycle. After the grunt was knocked down, the blonde kicked him in the chin to knock him out completely before getting his shield back. Looking at the broken doors of Haven, he steeled himself for what was waiting for him inside.

Whether it was his sister ready to shoot his head off, Taiyang Xiao Long, or the rumored champion of Haven's Inner Circle; he'd be going back home with Rouge whether she wanted to be brought back or not.

 **Haven Academy**

Entering the building, Jaune stuck close to the walls to lessen any surprise on him. There were sounds of shooting and metal clashing everywhere as some of the hunters that stayed in Haven fought back against the rebellion. Rebels he once thought of as friends were being taken down, not having their aura unlocked. But he wasn't here for them. He was here to rescue his bitch of a sister.

"Yah!"

Ducking at the sound of a war cry charging at him, Jaune dodged an axe swing aimed for his neck. Kicking the enemy's knee and bending it in an awkward angle, he bashed him with his shield and sprinted onward to find his sister. Vaulting over debris and ducking through corners, he scanned for a familiar sign of Rouge. It was madness in the academy as rebels and trained huntsmen fought one another.

While the trained hunters had the superior weaponry and better martial arts, the rebels outnumbered them three to one. The only way any of them were able to distinguish rebel from hunter was by the weapons they held and the uniforms the hunters wore. Doing his best, Jaune deflected bullets and ran through the chaos like in the streets.

"Traitor!" Someone shouted to his right.

Turning, he saw an old friend running at him with a police baton in hand. It was the man who always gave Jaune songs for his scroll.

Getting out of the way from the swings, the blonde couldn't find any way around the burly man. Jaune was tall, but the older man was wider and a few more inches taller than him.

"You were our champion!" The man roared, continuing to swing at him with hatred in his eyes. "We believed in you!"

There was a pang of guilt, but the blonde shrugged it off. Maybe leaving them for a peaceful life was selfish. Maybe he could have stuck around a bit longer until things were getting better. Maybe he could've left in a better way. There were so many things that could have been better but the way he saw it, this chaos he was running in was the bitter inevitable. If not Rouge pulling the plan for guns and pillaging, then it would've been someone else far worse.

When the baton was swung at him once more, Jaune met it with his blade and cut the metal in half. It hurt he had to do this to someone he thought of as a friend, but he'd harden his heart to do what he had to do.

Throwing a kick, the burly man caught it in his hand and threw Jaune to a pillar. Recovering with a skid before his back could slam against it, the blonde charged forward once more and tried to bash him with his shield. Just like with the kick, his shield was caught and yanked out of his hand and thrown to the side. The fight wasn't going in Jaune's favor as he hoped.

"Surprised? I'm not just some mook rebel." He said with a smirk. "I'm a former soldier just like yer old man."

Dammit. He should've known he was trained just by his appearance. Not many rebels were as stacked as the man before him, and his build was similar to his late dad. But he wasn't giving up just because he was fighting someone with more experience. Holding his sword in a ready position, he readied himself with everything he knew and more.

If he was trained just like his dad, then they might still have the same concept when it came to close combat. Throwing a punch to the head, it was blocked by an elbow to try and damage his fist. Throwing a low kick, a leg contracted to be as hard as a steel post was raised to block and damage his own shin. This man was really a former soldier just like his old man.

Luckily for Jaune, he wasn't just trained by his dad alone. Feinting a punch, he quickly spun to cut the man's arm with his sword when he raised to block.

"Argh!"

Not letting up, he jumped to give a drop house kick and recovered fast to charge forward. When the man's arm slipped to his side, the blonde halted and jerked to the side to avoid the bullet whizzing past his head. Sprinting using his aura, he closed the gap and jumped high to cut him with his sword. With a quick slice, the gun in the man's hand was cut and he was now out of weapons. Spinning fast once more, Jaune hit the man with the hilt of Crocea Mors and huffed in triumph when he fell down unconscious. Getting his shield back, he ran off to go find Rouge.

The reception area was clear with only a few people fighting so that meant he had to go deeper into the academy. The kitchens were being ransacked and classrooms were barren with a few upturned tables to act as barricades. Jaune had a feeling there were rebels camping behind them. When he went to see if his sister was there, all he saw was the corpse of a rebel with their throat sliced or a bullet in their neck. Going into another classroom, he found the corpses of the girls who were flirting with him a day ago.

Exiting the room and entering a hallway once more, he saw a familiar flash of white splotched in paint – the champion's cloak. Chasing after it, he was lead to where all the shooting was taking place. And there was Rouge standing in the center of it all with SMG in hand firing with no remorse.

"Reloading!" She shouted, ducking behind a guy who gave her cover.

 _Crash!_

Time slowed down for Rouge once more as she saw the man who was covering her falling to the ground like a giant domino. She knew coming into Haven Academy was a big risk, but it was also the biggest shot at getting their message across. And now she was kneeling before _the_ Pyrrha Nikos – champion of Mistral's Inner Circle and destroyer of the other rebel camps.

All fighting ceased once her presence was known. Next to Taiyang Xiao Long, Pyrrha was said to be a legend in the making with how she fought in the field. Rouge was never too deep in the riots to see her, and she never stayed long enough for Pyrrha to see her – Jaune always pulled her and Misty out when things looked like they were getting ugly.

"That's the cloak of the Outer Circle's champion." The redhead said with narrowed eyes. Stepping forward, she tsked seeing Rouge flinch back. "You're just a fake. Where is your real champion?"

Raising her weapon in a final effort, Rouge fired all her bullets at Pyrrha while screaming with her eyes shot. The champion was just staring with half lidded eyes at her attempt to kill her as the bullets moved away from her like magic. This was why she was considered a legend in the making – no bullets could touch her. As Rouge opened her eyes when her clip was empty, she pulled out a small pistol and aimed it directly at Pyrrha's eye.

When the shot was fired, the eldest Arc fell to her knees in disbelief seeing the bullet stuck a mere three centimeters midair from the redhead's face. When it dropped to the floor with a small clang, Rouge knew she was out of options. She'd run out of hope.

"Where is your real champion?" Pyrrha asked once more, acting like she wasn't even shot at.

"Right here." Jaune answered, making his presence known.

Stepping forward, he walked to his eldest sister with hand outstretched. When she made to grab for his hand, he swatted it away much to her surprise. He grabbed the cloak and yanked it off her shoulders to drape over himself. Looking down at her with a glare, she looked so small in his eyes. Facing Pyrrha once more, he readied himself as he saw her sizing him up.

At last, the two champions of Mistral finally met.

 **END**

 **AN: And here's the chapter. I know I haven't been updating lately but thesis proposal ideas and tons of projects can take a lot out of creative time. So now the champions have met and family problems on Jaune's end. So this will get some updates more than Ruby's Gaiden so there wont be any spoilers. Might update oneshot ideas and chibi again.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Don't own RWBY**

 **AN: Ladies and gentlemen! Lets get ready to RUMBLE!**

 **Also bear with me. I've been writing some lyrics and poetry for a while, so my mind is still stuck in some rhymes.**

 _Excerpt from a rebel witness' page recovered from the abandoned camp:_

 _Both of them knew it would come to this._

 _Every single battle was leading to this._

 _Blue eyes met green as they circled one another._

 _The man that came to save us was Rouge's little brother._

 _I looked down, I was ashamed._

 _My bros, we called him names_

 _Turning to my crew, they were all thinking the same_

 _The guy was our champion and we pushed him off the saddle?_

 _Now here the brother was saving us from this hell of a battle._

 **We are the Champions**

In the middle of the streets where chaos was ensuing, all fighting stopped when the loud sound of glass breaking and a body being thrown out of Haven Academy was heard. None would stop in any situation, but the sight of the Outer Circle's cloak on the person was reason enough. When the figure stood up to show Jaune Arc, the people moved forward to subdue him. Rebels still saw him as a traitor, and the police saw his cloak as a sign he was their main target. Seeing the large crowd forming around him, Jaune put his sword in front of him in both hands daring anyone to come near him. He could take a few bullets, and the stakes have gotten higher.

These people were ready to kill. They made their choice, and he had to make his. Its either them or him, and he wasn't going to go down today. He had a troublesome sister to drag home, a mother to take care of, six more sisters he loved dearly to watch over. He was going back to Ansel to make an honest career, find a wife, make children, and grow old watching in pride of the legacy he'd bring into the world!

It was silent as the people surrounded him. There was confusion as police looked to the rebels pointing their guns on the Outer Circle's champion. As they slowly converged on Jaune, a loud gunshot echoed from the academy, drawing all eyes to the source. It was Pyrrha Nikos with rifle in hand pointed straight to the sky with barrel still smoking. Jumping down from ledge she stood on, she marched her way to the center where Jaune was. The police made way for her, saluting as she passed showing the authority she held despite her young age.

As she passed, the police took note of one off factor to her appearance – a purple bruise forming on her right cheek. It was astonishing to them as they all revered her as untouchable. None could best her in a fight, and none had ever landed a blow to leave any mark on her. The way her gaze focused on Jaune was enough to show who gave her the mark.

"You are the first person to land a hit on me since the completion of my training." She stated once they were face to face. With how he was surrounded, there was no escape for him.

What Pyrrha said caused a murmur amongst the crowd surrounding them. Looking to where they came from, one of the police peeked in to see if there was anyone inside to witness what happened in the room. It would soon be recorded as the battle where Pyrrha Nikos first got hit. History books would state no one was in the room at the time besides the two and the Arc's sister. Neither of the two ever gave a proper answer when asked of what happened in the room where it happened, and none would take Rouge's answers at face value given her reputation.

"Let's see if I'll be the last." Jaune muttered, pulling his sword to his chest with the blade pointing to the sky.

Pyrrha was aware of the pose in which he was holding. It was a proclamation for a duel where both parties would represent their faction to prevent chaos and bloodshed. The problem in the past was that for the duel to commence, both parties needed to agree on their representative of champion and both champions must have agreements to terms placed. The other problem was that in times of war, audiences have been known to cheat and interfere breaking all terms and ensuing the bloodshed once more.

Looking to the people behind Jaune, Pyrrha saw them waiting for her response. Looking behind her, the people she represented were waiting as well. If she were to accept, then she had to honor the terms she didn't know he'd lay out. If she didn't agree and struck him while he stood in pose, she'd be disgraced with all remembering her as a warrior with no honor – and she'd cause both parties to fight once more. Fixing her appearance, she looked Jaune directly in the eye and mirrored his pose with a glare.

The crowd around them widened the circle to where the field was completely open them. Slowly stabbing their swords into the ground, they relinquished any other equipment on their person from ammunition to shields, and spare knives as customary to the rules of these duels. Placing their shields down as the last, they walked towards each other to name their terms. Normally a talk to set records straight would be put first, but it was skipped seeing as how there wouldn't be any agreements. Not losing eye contact, both champions shook hands but did not let go.

"I, Jaune Arc, chosen Champion of Mistral's Outer Circle challenge Pyrrha Nikos to a duel." He stated, as taught to him by his mother years ago. "My terms are to let the rebels and other prisoners in prison be set free and returned to their homes and families if I win. In the chance I lose, I take full responsibilities for today and submit myself to be imprisoned. Winner is decide by knockout."

Murmurs could be heard as the rebels spoke amongst themselves. The smart ones knew Pyrrha didn't have the power to destroy the circle, but having a free pass to leave and fight another day sounded fine.

"I accept your challenge and agree to your terms." The redhead agreed, not breaking eye contact. "On my win, the rebels will be taken into custody to be tried."

With one final shake of hands, they released and turned their backs. Reaching their weapons, they glanced back to make sure the other did not touch them. Standing, they waited for someone to sound them off.

"Start!" A random rebel shouted. As one, the crowd counted.

The two champions walked in time with the count of the crowd as they took ten paces. At the tenth step, both duelers quickly turned around to sprint to their weapons. Pyrrha was the faster of the two and got there first. Picking up Milo, she took a quick swing at Jaune as he raced forward but missed as he slid on the dirt to get to his shield. Clicking her tongue, the redhead stepped forward and jumped to make stab over the shield. Jaune's strength and reflexes were just as good since he was able to block the hit, and not skid back from her weight. With a push, he sent her away from the center giving him a chance to get his sword. He stood in front of Pyrrha's effects, robbing her a chance of a good defense.

What he didn't expect was for her to bring her hand forward and a dark glow to cover it. The sky was the next thing Jaune saw as he felt his balance taken away from him. Rolling out of the way when the rebel crowd shouted for him to, he narrowly missed Pyrrha's stomp aimed for his chest. Trying to sweep for her feet in his position, she jumped up and aimed to stomp once more. Jaune quickly got up and tossed some dirt into the air before rolling. The female soldier was blind, giving Jaune and opportunity to give a drop house at her back.

The rebels cheered at the first successful contact with police screaming of dirty tactics.

Opening one eye, Pyrrha tossed her shield in Jaune's direction, making him duck by the sheer speed. That gave her an opportunity to run forward and deliver a knee into his face, sending him flying back. There was a victorious smirk on her face as adrenaline was pumping through her veins. The rush of the crowd cheering and the battle was making her drunk on the attention. From the bloody grin on Jaune's face, it could be seen the same was happening for him. Charging forward once more, they locked blades trying to dominate and break the other. Hooking a foot behind him, Pyrrha was going to trip him up, but he was quick to feel her intentions and pulled her down with him. The crowd was cheering seeing them both on the floor tangled up and trying to hit each other despite their predicament.

Once they were able to untangle themselves and push away, their weapons lay forgotten on the ground as they were bent on finishing the duel in fisticuffs. The ponytail on Pyrrha's head was undone, having her hair splayed out wildly with a few strands sticking to her cheeks and bleeding mouth. Jaune was sporting a few scuffs on his cheek with a lip slowly swelling up. The tangled fight they were in robbed them of some of their stamina, but they were relentless. Guard up, Pyrrha stomped forward to engage with Jaune doing so in his own stance. Once they were close to knocking foreheads, the two swung fists, sending jabs, and kicks to beat the other down. As Pyrrha jumped in the air with legs raised, Jaune expected a kick he would grab but it wasn't a kick. Both of Pyrrha's legs clamped on his arm and he was pulled down in an arm bar. Police whooped and rebels shouted as the two continued to fight.

Feeling his tendons stretching, Jaune tried to fight but felt the redhead's foot on his chest keeping him in place. Pounding it, he seethed finding out she had metal tipped boots. Raising his chest, he kept struggling and fighting to get out of the lock. Then suddenly, all cheering and shouting stopped when a loud bang was heard. The grip Jaune was in was loosened as Pyrrha let go. There was silence from the crowd as everyone stood in shock. The only one to be making noise was Pyrrha as she cried, bleeding with eyes shut in pain.

Getting up from the ground, Jaune saw Pyrrha cradling her gut as blood was slowly pouring out. Everyone was looking to find who dared to interrupt the duel. And Jaune was the first to find who it was. Standing in the window was Rouge Arc with a gun in hand with the barrel still smoking. All eyes were trained on her, rebels and police in disbelief of what she had done. All the effort to stop this was blown away, because of a stupid girl with no clue of the situation.

"H-hey." Jaune knelt by Pyrrha's side, trying to help her. He knew first aid, but he didn't have the items on hand to help her. Pulling her hand away, the shot was in her side just above her hip.

The bullet passed through her, giving her a chance to be save since there was nothing inside to cause infection. Taking the cloak off him, he bundled it up and tied it over her to give some pressure over the wound. Calling over a police officer, three came and had them take her. There was an outrage about to form, and an agreement had been shot.

"I surrender myself." Jaune quickly said, holding his hands out to be cuffed. Sending a look to the rebels behind him, some were still murmuring with a few pointing to Rouge who was still in the window.

"Continue the fight!" The elder sister shouted, holding the gun up high. A few rebels were about to listen, but were stopped by hands of friends and comrades holding them back. Seeing no rebel stepping forward, she shouted once more. "What's wrong with you?! Their champion is down! We can win this!"

The police had their weapons raised, but it wasn't needed. The rebels weren't paying attention to them. As the group turned to the real champion surrendering himself to the police, some of them dropped their guns with a few backing away to get out of the city.

"Come back!" Rouge ordered them, seeing the ones fleeing. Turning to the ones staying, she waited for them to pick up their guns and fight. Instead, they walked to the police with hands raised in surrender.

"Enough Rouge!" Jaune shouted to the window, glaring at his sister. "This isn't the way and _they_ know it! We all know this is wrong!"

"No." The elder sister growled, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. "This isn't over."

"We're fighting to liberate Mistral from Atlas rule!" She shouted, reminding them of what their cause was for. "The Inner Circle is Atlas and we need to save her!"

Seeing a few rebels backing away to their guns, Jaune raised his voice to counter her. "Atlas blood wasn't spilled today! Mistral blood was!"

Turning away from her, Jaune addressed the rebels with tears and anger in his eyes. "Look at us! We killed our brothers and sisters! We haven't liberated anyone! We've just turned our capital into another Color War. But this time, we're fighting each other! We were supposed to unite Mistral into her free glory, not burn it into the ground! It's why we sang of freedom and hope – because Mistral is freedom and hope. …But we've gone too far."

The words sank into both rebels and police. Jaune was right. "We can restart and do this the right way without guns. If we take responsibility now and-"

 _BANG!_

Pain erupted from Jaune's side as he fell over. It was a feeling that came back like an old memory. Touching the source of the pain, his fingers felt wet and sticky. Sounds of people shouting could be heard and hands pulling him up brought him back to a time in his life when he was at his lowest. And just like then, his mind came to the same conclusion.

' _I don't like war.'_

Feeling a pressure on his wound, Jaune's vision was replaced by a policewoman and a rebel trying to keep him awake. Lifting his head, he saw both rebels and police storming the window to get to Rouge. Jaune closed his eyes and wept silently as he processed it. His sister, the eldest who he grew up loving had been the one to shoot him. She had gone and actually shot him. Clenching his hand tightly, he looked up at the sky as he was carried away. After the last three clouds passed, it all became a blur as the pain became too much and he passed out.

 **Hours later**

When Jaune woke up, he was in a white room. It couldn't have been death because he was still feeling bits of pain. Then again, he's never died before so how would he know what the afterlife was like. Trying to sit up, he winced from the pain in his side where Rouge had shot him.

"I'd lay back down if I were you." A familiar old voice told him. Looking up, Jaune saw it was Odsy in his uniform and medals in full display. "I wish I could say it was good to see you Jaune, but I'd like have met you in better condition."

Doing as the man said, Jaune lay back down just enough so he could still see the general. Looking over the room, it was different from the hospital he was in all those years ago.

"This is the second time I've seen you in bed with a gunshot wound young man." Odsy smiled, trying to lighten the mood with him. Not seeing a smile on Jaune's face, he could guess why he wasn't in the mood. "I'm truly sorry of what happened to you. When family is the one to betray you, it makes one wonder who can be trusted."

"So you saw it all?" Jaune said through a dry throat.

When the older man gave him a cup of water to drink, he gladly took it.

"I saw everything." General Odyssey said with pride but also sadness. "I was witness to champions of both sides of Mistral dueling in our old ways. I saw a crowd of Mistral's people united in moment, forgetting they were enemies. …And I saw it all crumble by one gunshot. One gunshot that could have ruined my protégé for life. I saw chaos about to occur. And then I saw one lone boy stand do something I wouldn't have expected. I saw you surrender and stand up for what is right."

"You were right Jaune." Odsy stood up with hands behind his back. "We are Mistral. Atlas doesn't hold place here and shouldn't have the power to dictate our laws. Mistral is beautiful. She is our home and she stands for freedom and glory."

"Why are you telling me this?" Jaune asked, wondering what the General was getting to. When Odsy turned around, he held a smile on his face.

"Don't you see?" The man spread his hands wide. "You've inspired me! You, a fifteen year old boy, opened my eyes and the eyes of the people inside and on the outside of what we have to do."

Stepping closer, he placed a firm hand on Jaune's shoulder but made sure not to make it too hard. "Years ago, you rejected my offer to join my unit and I was sorely disappointed. But now I see it was a blessing in disguise. You! You are a face of the Outer Circle. You are _Mistral's_ face of the Outer Circle."

"Where is this going?" The blonde asked, not seeing the picture yet.

"We can unite Mistral into one once more. One that is still in the Inner Circle while still keeping our ways and freedom." Odsy said with a twinkle in his eyes. "I know you might have some apprehensions against joining the Inner Circle, but what if it was something else? A chance to show the world that Mistral the free and beautiful is better without the eyes of Atlas hanging over us."

Holding out a hand, Odsy was waiting for Jaune to take this opportunity.

"What would I have to do before I agree?" Jaune asked, not taking his hand until all cards were shown on the table. An Arc's word is absolute to them, and agreeing to something blindly was not smart.

"Just be yourself." Odsy looked him in the eye with no trace of lies. "I may have a protégé, but her beliefs are my beliefs. You on the other hand are free with your own beliefs. A free thinker in the eyes of the public and someone people would stand behind. Why do you think you were able to amass so many rebels?"

"And I'm going to be speaking for the freedom of Mistral?" The blonde asked, feeling that that wasn't all.

"You'll be speaking for me as the new President of Mistral." Odsy said, putting the final detail out.

"You're planning to run for head council." Jaune shook his head.

"Exactly." The general clapped his hands, seeing Jaune catching on. "We've been under a council that looks only after themselves. And do you know how those people got their chairs? Nepotism! None of them studied to get their ranks. I on the other hand have lead battalions, formed units, given opportunities to those who had none, studied the laws on which Mistral was founded in its years and the amendments made for the equality of those in it. The rebels attacked the city, but it's the council who had the saying. And they said to ignore the protests. Lionheart may have a good heart and high connections, but he lacks a backbone to stand up for himself. When the others members in the seat tell him what to do, he bends his back to avoid conflict. The head needs to be replaced with someone looking out for its people."

All this information Odyssey was feeding Jaune was opening his eyes to the mistakes. They sang and rioted because they thought the people inside would make their voices be known. But just like them, they were powerless. The only difference was that those in the outside were given a freedom without protection while those inside were like prisoners in a comfy cell. Looking to the general who still had his hand extended, Jaune didn't shake it. When Odyssey turned to leave, he heard Jaune spoke.

"You're going to need more than just me and a protégé to get you into the seat." The blonde said, shakily raising his hand to salute the general.

Facing back, Odsy widened seeing the fire burning in Jaune's eyes. "I'm at your service, General Odyssey."

In that small white room, a plan was made by two men that would forever change Mistral. The general would put in the history books that a rebel leader begged him for pardon in exchange for connections and aid, but stories told by relatives and close friends told a different tale.

 **A year later**

Jaune's sentence to prison was annulled by the General and instead converted to a time of civil service. In that time, Jaune's role was to amass the people from the Outer Circle to a change in leaders in Mistral. The idea was to impeach the current council and replace it with a new group consisted of war heroes the people were familiar with. Jaune got to go back home and spend time with his family despite his new job. Misty was able to become a teacher at the preschool watching over children and orphans. His other sisters were growing up so well, he felt himself blessed where he was now. They were making a movement, but they were doing it peacefully without the need of guns or disruption.

A few rebels who heard of what was happening, came in and pitched in ideas of songs and such that would hopefully get others to join in – and it did. Some of those songs were used as pitches for General Odyssey's election along with his group he carefully picked. From his reports to Odyssey, the movement was working as civilians from all of Mistral were calling for the step down of Lionheart and the rise of Odyssey.

But not all things had gone great. Three months before Jaune's birthday, Juniper died of sickness. Her children tried to be there for her, but she was slowly losing life each day. All her battles had finally caught up with her that she'd become tired and weak. Six of seven children were present in her passing. With Misty being the adult now, she was the appointed guardian since Rouge was serving life in prison. It was hard for them to move on with another family member gone. She was buried next to the tombstone of their father with past teammates coming to visit. General Odyssey had even attended the sermon and told nothing but his high respects for her and all she had accomplished.

In her will, she left the Crocea Mors in Jaune's name and the house to be kept in the family. No money was left behind as they had none besides a few lien between each other, but it wasn't like they were in dire need. The income the girls brought in from their job helped keep them fed for the days, and their small garden was good enough to give livestock for them and others willing to trade. Misty made it her duty to go and inform the news of their mom's passing to Rouge, and she returned in tears and angry. She refused to repeat anything Rouge said and focused on keeping the rest of the family together.

Currently, Jaune was in his house in Ansel sleeping off the fatigue he obtained campaigning and discussing ideas and trades with other civilians. He was sixteen now and had grown a bit more. His sisters once joked that if he grew any taller, he'd have to duck when going through their door. When he heard a knock at the door, he ignored it and waited for one of his sisters to go and answer. It was a Sunday, and that meant no work for any of them. Checking the time on his clock it was seven, so that meant the others were out shopping in the market. When he heard tiny feet running, he knew it was Viola answering.

There were a few murmurs and giggling, which meant it was either a friend from school or one of the old men coming to check on them. Hearing the tiny footsteps coming to his room, Jaune cracked an eye open and waited for the inevitable. His door creaked slightly and he could hear the tiniest of creaks in the floorboards as his little sister tried to sneak up on him. Seeing a shadow, he closed his eye once more and waited for her to come close. When he felt her breath, he quickly shot his arms forward and pulled his sister into bed with him.

"Nice try V." Jaune laughed as he heard his sister giggling. She was still so innocent. She was one of the reasons they were all working so hard – so she could grow up without the struggles they were currently facing. "So who's at the door?"

"Its your girlfriend." Viola teased, getting him to roll his eyes. She said that about every girl that came to their door asking for him. They weren't suitors, but just coworkers trying to get his opinion on a campaign and pitch idea.

Getting up from bed, Jaune was about to make it out but was stopped by Viola jumping on his back. On the way to the door, she used her hands to fix his hair out of its mess. In the end, he ended up with pigtails instead of his usual look. Didn't matter anyways – the people respected him enough to not judge him by what he did in his private time with his family. Reaching the door, there stood Pyrrha in her uniform observing her surroundings. They've met a few times in the streets of Mistral and in General Odyssey's office, but they've never been to each other's houses before.

"Good morning." She greeted him when she saw him arrive. Looking him over, she was perplexed to see the Outer Circle's champion was still in his pajamas this late in the day.

"Pyrrha." Jaune greeted her, putting Viola down and taking the pigtails out. "I wasn't expecting anyone today."

"Sorry for arriving on short notice." She apologized, giving a sheepish smile. "The general just informed me that there's going to be a ball in Haven Academy tonight celebrating his rise in popularity. As his two champions, we're required to be by his side as a show of support."

Nodding, Jaune could see something like that being important. One thing that bothered him though…

"And you had to come here and tell me personally when he has me on speed dial by scroll." He said, holding up his scroll to show emphasis. Behind him, Viola smacked her head at how clueless her brother was.

Instead of being nervous or embarrassed, Pyrrha kept her smile while pointing at his scroll with eyes closed. Blinking, Jaune looked at it and saw he had three missed calls from the general himself. And then he remembered switching the damn thing to silent mode before he went to sleep. "He suspected you might have been sleeping or left your scroll unattended, so he sent me to make sure you were prepared early."

Looking at his slovenly state, he could guess she had a bad impression.

"I'll be sure to be in proper wear." He told her.

"It's a formal event so a suit and tie should do." She informed him with a smile still on her face.

"Are you going to bring a date? DO you have boyfriend?" Viola piped in, peeking her head behind Jaune's frame. "Can my brother be your boyfriend?!"

Jaune was quick to scoop her up and cover her mouth with a blush on his face. Looking to Pyrrha she was embarrassed at how forward his little sister was too.

"W-we're not required to bring a date, but we do need to mingle with the others." She muttered, not meeting his eyes. After that, there was an awkward silence between the two as Pyrrha shifted from side to side and Jaune kept hold of his little sister. "I-I guess I'll be going now! See you tonight. At Haven! We'll be meeting at Haven at seven."

Nodding, Jaune watched her run off back to Mistral leaving him standing at his door with his sister swinging in his arms. Putting her down, she waved at Pyrrha's retreating form before turning back to him with hands on her hips.

"I like her." She said with such honesty he couldn't be mad. Shaking his head, he pulled her in for another hug and lead her inside.

By the time the others came back, Viola tattled on what Jaune was needed for in the evening. Needless to say, they did their best to spruce him up and make him look attractive. The only downside was that he was lacking the clothes required for the ball. His suit was now two sizes too small for him, and they didn't have a place that sold suits on the dot.

Checking with family friends, none were in possession of a suit and tie since most of them were hunters that never even got to go to fancy parties. At most their parties were outside around a bonfire drinking cold rounds while laughing and singing until the sun came up.

Scrambling around in their storage for anything, it was Amber that found something. It was technically a suit, but not one worn by the current times.

"What is that thing on the collar?" Viola poked at the napkin like fabric.

"It's a cravat." Misty looked at the thing with a frown. "A frilled cravat."

Looking at the suit, Jaune wished he had more options because it even came with a top hat.

"Hey look, it has a picture inside one of the pockets." Viola said, digging inside the suit pockets. Opening it up, it showed a young Hughes with Juniper. The two were smiling and holding hands as they stared at the camera.

The mood turned a little sad when they remembered the ones they lost. Looking at the suit, Jaune wondered if it would be alright to use it. Feeling a hand on his own, he turned to see Misty giving him an encouraging smile. "I'm sure he'd be fine with you wearing it."

Smiling, he took to the showers while the Opal went on to clean the old suit. It just needed a bit of dusting, spraying, and pressing to get it nice and prim. By the time Jaune was finished with his shower, the suit was ready to be worn. He decided to forego the top hat since he felt it was too much. While trying to fix his hair, he noticed that its been some time since he had a hair cut. The back was long enough to cover his nape now that it was starting to look like a mullet. Misty was quick to fix it by tying it into a ponytail.

Looking himself in the mirror, he felt like an idiot but looked good in what he was in. Giving a twirl for his sisters, they approved as well.

Before he was out the door, Misty stopped him to straighten his jacket. Looking him up and down she smiled in pride of how she her eyes were at his shoulder level. Giving him a hug, she couldn't be any more proud of him.

"Just be yourself and do what you have to." She told him. With a peck on the cheek, she ushered him off so he wouldn't be late. Feeling eyes on her, she turned to the hallway and saw her five sisters looking at her strangely. "What?"

Not saying anything they scattered to do their own business.

 **Haven Academy**

General Odyssey was in a bit of a panic internally as he stood in the room with all the important figureheads. Off to the side, Pyrrha was busy answering journalists from Vale of what their idea was. But that wasn't what they were really after. All these interviewers were really after scandals and trying to find holes in their words to bring them down. A vote for him was a fall for the current council and silence was not an option. Fiddling with his tie, he looked around for his other champion. Scanning the room, a white figure caught his attention.

It was Jacque motherfucking Schnee. And he had his damn spawns by his side too. Discreetly eyeing them, he saw they were making their way to his protégé. The look on his face was obvious. Just like how he got into the Schnee name, he'd plant his position in history with Mistral as well. Not on his watch. Striding over to cut him off, he placed his best smile on his face.

"Jacque Schnee." He called his name loudly, gaining the attention of the many. Excellent. If Jacque dared to snub him, the reporters would eat him up. "I wasn't aware you would be here. So good to have you drop by."

"Yes. I caught wind of this and thought I'd grace it with my presence." The man sounded just as arrogant as his ever. Pulling his son to his side, Odyssey could tell he was much of a piece of shit as his father. "My son, Whitley."

Nodding, the general turned to the girl looking around the room. Clearing his throat, he caught her attention. "Your father hasn't introduced you. And you are?"

"Apologies." She curtsied, showing some level of respect. Somehow, Odsy felt like she was better than the other two just by her word and action. "My name is Weiss Schnee. Tonight's event looks stunning."

No traces of kissing up in her tone, _and_ she had an honest smile? Perhaps not all Schnees were lost.

"If this event means the change to Mistral's prosperity and freedom, then I'd throw a hundred more." He talked, selling his belief to them. Spotting Jacque's finger twitching or the small frown on his son's face, he knew they weren't all for it. The man's daughter on the other hand had a smile on her face. "I hope you can one day see the Mistral of freedom and glory, Miss Schnee."

"Yes, yes. Charming." Jacque brushed his words away. "I heard you had two champions under your wings. Atlas has heard of Pyrrha Nikos, but this _Outer_ champion has yet to be seen. We were just about to go question Pyrrha on this mystery person when you came along."

Odsy could see what game was playing at now. Of course he'd use his two children as pawns. One to get Pyrrha and the other to get Jaune. The man was a piece of shit that was a stain on this party. Luckily, he was getting bored and thought a chance to mess with someone from Atlas would be fun.

"Unfortunately, my _mystery_ champion as you put it, is a little late." The general said, swirling his drink.

"I guess you can't expect nothing less from a former rebel leader." Whitley interjected, getting a laugh from his father and no one else. Seeing the general's eyes on him, he stood a bit straighter from the attention.

"He's a very important part in my unit next to Pyrrha of course." The general continued, acting like Whitley didn't say anything. "Where Pyrrha can gain the attention of those in the inner faction, he gains the hearts of the outside."

That shut the little kid up. Even Weiss had his full attention. Before he could say any more though, Pyrrha was by his side. "Yes, Pyrrha?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt your talk, sir." She saluted, waiting for his order to be at ease. "The guards outside have notified Jaune has arrived."

"Excellent." Odsy nodded, turning back to the Schnees. "I'm sorry to cut this talk short, but I need to go meet my late champion. Come along Pyrrha. Let's go meet our friend."

"But sir-" Pyrrha interjected, but was cut off when the doors opened.

It wasn't a subtle entrance at all. The door was opened wide with a loud boom as Jaune Arc made his way in. Behind him, the guards were pinching the bridge of their nose at his tact. When all eyes were on him, he gave a few waves and a sheepish grin to those he made eye contact with. Spotting the general and Pyrrha standing together, he made a beeline towards them while trying not to look like an idiot. Like practiced, don't run but take measured steps with good posture and confidence in your smile. Reaching them, he stopped in his steps and saluted with head held high.

"Apologies for the tardiness, General." He said with smile gone. "I have no excuses."

"At ease, Jaune." After that order, Jaune's smile was back on his face and the two were having their own conversation.

"And who is this fellow?" Jacque muttered to his son as they looked Jaune over. The suit he was wearing was old and tacky, his hair was mop with ponytail, and his shoes had traces of dirt under their soles.

"Seems like this ball is a charity event." Whitley said under his breath. His sister was quick to flick his arm to shut him up.

After they heard the general give a laugh and pat the boy's shoulder, he ushered him and Pyrrha away to mingle with the other guests. "Sorry about that. I was just instructing Jaune to go entertain the guests."

"Another project under your arms?" The owner of the SDC asked, eyeing how the boy was casually talking with Pyrrha. He also noticed the faint blush on the girl's cheeks. "He doesn't seem like the type to be here."

"He may not seem the type, but he has every right to be here." Odyssey defended his second champion.

"Who is he, sir?" Weiss asked, curious on what kind of standing the boy held.

"I thought it would have been obvious." He said, motioning for them to look at Jaune once more. "He is my Outer Circle champion, Jaune Arc."

 **With Jaune and Pyrrha**

An hour into the event, Jaune was honestly bored out of his mind as he stood with Pyrrha and listened to some people talking about income or their trips to a place in Vale. Some of them were people of Mistral, but majority of the people in this ball were journalists and aristocrats from Vale and Atlas. For something called a ball, it wasn't that fun. There weren't any dances, no music, he had to chase after some waiter to get his food and drinks, and the food and drinks were tiny. So much for getting takeouts for his sisters.

For his first experience in a ball, it was really underwhelming.

"Not what you were expecting?" Pyrrha asked, walking to his side after another finished interview.

"Things could be better." He shrugged, wishing the event was over. "How long will this last?"

"Two more hours." His silent groan made her giggle a bit. "It's not that bad. At least you cleaned up well."

"Thanks. You look amazing in that dress by the way." He complimented her back.

There was another silence as the two stood together watching the ball play out. With how busy the general kept them, they never really got to have time to talk to one another. Both were important figures and well known in Mistral, which was what Odsy needed to get the people's attention. Seeing as this was a rare opportunity for the two to talk, they thought to take the chance. The problem was that neither knew what to talk about.

Looking to Pyrrha, Jaune noticed a little hum under her breath. Listening closer, he knew the tune. Catching up with the tune, he sang the lyrics much to her shock. Seeing her turning to him, he smiled at catching her.

"I see someone likes rebel songs." He teased, getting her to blush.

"I just like the tune and message behind it." She mumbled, averting her eyes. Glancing back, she saw him still staring at her. "What?"

"Nothing. You just hum it really well." He complimented.

Looking at her face, he never noticed how her eyes sparkled in the light. Her face still held that round shape all girls had at their age, but she was slowly losing it. It made her look so innocent despite how skilled she was in the battlefield.

"Of all the rebel songs, its my favorite." She replied, finding something to share with.

"Thank you."

"Hm?" She blinked when he said that.

"I'm glad someone likes the song I wrote." He smiled with pink dusting his cheeks. "My sister Misty helped me think of rhymes and a rythm, but everything else was my idea."

"Was she the one who…" Pyrrha left the sentence hanging as she ghosted a hand to the spot she was shot at a year ago. The general shared that Jaune was also shot by his sister.

"No." He quickly shook his head, knowing who she was implying. "That was Rouge. Misty is the second eldest. She's the one that made my cloak and helped with some of the songs and signs."

"And your little sister is…" She prompted him to go on.

"That was Viola." He replied, remembering the impression she made. "She's the youngest out of the eight of us."

Pyrrha had to quickly stop herself from dropping her drink from that information. Eight children?!

"There are eight of you?" She asked with eyes wide.

"Yeah. Seven sisters and one me." The look on her face was cute as she tried to imagine living in a small house with eight people.

"Your parents must be amazing to take care of all eight of you." The redhead said in amazement.

There was an awkward pause as she saw a slight frown come to Jaune's face before it was replaced with a smile. "They were."

Getting the meaning behind it, she placed a comforting hand on his arm and apologized. When she asked of how they passed, he was willing to tell. The general knew of his parents' deaths, but Pyrrha wasn't aware. After he told her his side, she shared her story. During the Color Wars, her parents were killed in a cave in. Atlas troops found their way into the secret tunnels she and her village were in and bombed it. Her parents sacrificed their lives to make sure she would live and she's been living for their sake.

"Back then, they'd say I would amount to something great." She finished her story, her eyes sparkling as she held back some tears. "And that's why I'm working so hard. To keep true to their word."

Hesitating at first, Jaune slowly placed his hand in her own and squeezed it tight. "If my opinion even matters, I think you're pretty great."

Smiling at his words, she looked him in the eyes and squeezed back with a silent thank you leaving her lips. Blinking the tears away, the two felt a new bond grow between them. The moment was soon over with two people walking towards them.

"It's nice to finally meet the champions of Mistral." A male voice caught their attention. Looking to who was talking, it was Whitley Schnee with his sister Weiss next to him.

"You can just call us by our names." Jaune waved a hand before sticking it out for the newcomer to shake. "Jaune Arc."

Looking at the hand, Whitley stared at before looking back to the blonde. "Whitley Schnee, as I'm sure you know."

Raising a brow at the attitude, Jaune was about to pull his hand back before it was grasped by Weiss. "Weiss Schnee. It's a pleasure to meet you. Both of you."

"Nice to meet you, Weiss." Jaune smiled, leaning down to give her knuckle a kiss. If he was paying attention, he would have noticed Pyrrha's eyes narrowing and a pout forming on her lips. "The pleasure is mine."

Looking at the heiress retract her hand and giggle softly, Pyrrha made herself known. "Pyrrha Nikos. It's nice meeting you."

What came next was conversation that bordered on violence. Weiss was a s neutral in her words, but it was her brother that shot at the mouth words that were made to bait the two. It was obvious Whitley didn't see Mistral as anything worth thinking of, but his father thought the people were worth something. Eyeing Pyrrha, Whitley saw she was worth something indeed. Jaune Arc though was nothing but a stain. One stain that was in his way and needed to be wiped. Seeing Weiss mingle with them showed them where her place was – with the wishful and idealistic.

Weiss was having a nice conversation learning about the two champions. Learning of their pasts and their motives, she grew to understand them and their reasons for why they do what they do and how they came to be where they were. Their titles of champion weren't just a name to bring glory to their families, it was a badge of honor they wore and upheld.

"Its amazing how the two of you are willing to put your life on the line to fight for what you believe in." The heiress commented, shaking hands with them once more. Hearing clapping from Whitley, the three turned to give him some attention.

"Yes, its amazing you two would fight for your beliefs." He said in a dismissive tone. "I prefer to wait and see the results. I think it's the safest way to prosperity."

"To each their own, I guess." Pyrrha replied, holding her glass up. When the other two followed suit, it was only Whitley standing without one.

"Yes, to each their own." Whitley mumbled, glaring at his sister. Turning around to walk away, he was stopped by a question from Jaune.

"Tell me Whitley. If you stand for nothing, what would you fall for?"

That question stopped him in his heels. This plebian dare to talk to him like that? Not answering, he continued to walk away. Once he was in the crowd of people, Weiss turned back to the two. "I'm sorry for my brother. There's no excuse for his behavior."

"Not everyone will agree with our movement." Pyrrha replied, not holding anything against them. "Most of the people here are from an older and newer generation that have seen the mistakes and want to correct them for their descendants. In another area, there are others who form parties that disagree with the general stepping into a higher power. Your brother isn't the first we've seen."

"Not everyone is all for the general's step." Jaune continued for Pyrrha. "I've ran into a few areas that don't believe in equal opportunities for both humans and faunus. He personally writes his essays against faunus slavery himself and has gotten their votes."

"That's amazing." Weiss gasped, aware of the mistreatment of faunus in Atlas. "It sounds like Mistral is keeping its word of becoming a truly free nation."

"We are." The two champions said together. Smiling at one another, Jaune thought it was time to change topics.

After a few more minutes of forming bonds, Weiss' father came over to take her someplace else. There was an important figurehead that requested for her presence. As she bid the two champions farewell, she was lost in the crowd leaving the two alone again. Even with the heiress gone, the two were now going in a good rhythm speaking of everything and anything that they could think of. And while they talked the drinks kept flowing even when the ball had ended.

 **Road to Ansel**

"Looks like the ball wasn't so bad after all." Jaune commented, taking a sip from his glass as he and Pyrrha walked the road to his house. His cheeks were now starting to turn a shade of red that wasn't from embarrassment or nervousness.

"Maybe you've had enough wine for tonight." She laughed, taking the bottle our of his grip. "You're starting to rhyme in your speech."

"No~." He giggled and snorted, trying to get his bottle back. "I'm fine. So fine. I'd really like more whine."

Pyrrha burst into another fit of giggles as they continued to walk. "You just did it again."

Walking shoulder to shoulder, the two got into song singing different tunes from their national anthem to songs of glory, love, and peace.

Once they reached the Arc house, it was Misty that answered the door in her robes. Seeing Jaune half drunk, she had a feeling that this would happen. Helping Pyrrha bring him in, the older sister noticed the redhead was also intoxicated. From the goodness of her heart, she couldn't let a drunk woman walk the streets this late. So she offered her a spot on the couch and didn't take no for an answer.

"Come on, Jaune. I'll bring you to your bed." She whispered, draping one of his arms over her.

She could feel his breath on her nape and it tickled her. Once they were at his room, she placed him down gently on his bed. Looking at his table, there were so many papers of different writings and letters. Some were songs, some were music sheets, and others were essays of slavery and the future. Looking at the snoozing boy laying in bed, Misty shook her head and took off his shoes for him. Next came his jacket, the cravat, and all that was left was his button up. Opening his shirt, she looked at his body of how defined it was. There were a few scratches healing up from his time in hunts, but they would fade away. Once the shirt was off, her eyes landed on the most prominent scar on his body – the gunshot wound Rouge inflicted on him. Running a hand through it, she remembered the last time she ever spoke with her sister.

 _Flashback_

 _Misty was alone sitting in a dark room with a light hovering over a table. Behind her, guards were positioned as another door opened with two officers bringing her sister. In her time in prison, Rouge had gotten more muscle and changed her look. Her once beautiful hair was cut off, and she had a scar on her lip running down to her chin._

" _Rouge." Misty greeted her, standing up to give her a hug. She was stopped by the guards and ordered to go back to her seat. When she did, the guards put Rouge across from her and handcuffed her to the table. "Hey."_

" _Hey Mist." The eldest greeted back. "Been a while. Thought you'd forgotten me."_

" _Sorry. It's just been real busy trying to keep the rest of us together." She said, biting her lip. "I came here to tell you that… mom died. She died of sickness. I was able to make my amends, but you-"_

" _Good." That stopped whatever Misty was going to say._

" _W-what?"_

" _I said good. Bout time she kicked the bucket." Rouge muttered, leaning back in her chair. "So what? We're orphans now? Knowing her, she probably didn't leave me anything."_

" _Rouge, she's our mom!" Misty's voice rose. "She only wanted the best for us and-"_

" _Well she's not my mom!" Rouge shot back. "Not after what she did!"_

" _She kicked you out because you pulled us into a fight we shouldn't have been in!" The second oldest stood up. "And look where it got you. Us!"_

 _There was silence after that. When Misty sat back down, Rouge spoke once more. "That's not what I meant."_

" _I'm talking about the other thing." She continued. Looking at the guards listening, she didn't speak because they were there. "Can you bozos leave? This is a family conversation."_

 _When they looked to Misty, she told them it would be fine. "Go ahead."_

 _The guards were slow to leave, but when nothing happened when their backs were turned, there was a click of the door and the two were alone. Waiting a bit, the two sisters stared each other in the eye._

" _She cheated." The eldest said with a snarl. "She cheated on dad, and it almost tore our whole family apart. All those times she was 'out on a mission' she was whoring herself to someone else."_

" _And she apologized and worked hard to win our trust back." Misty reminded her. "Viola and the others are proof dad's forgiven her. I was there, remember? I was with you when dad and mom were fighting."_

 _Growling, Rouge slammed her fists on the table and kept pounding to let her frustration out._

" _Well I can't forgive her!" She shouted, leaning on her seat. "Mom cheats on dad, whores herself to someone else for weeks, we're almost going to get split up, and she still keeps the damn kid!"_

" _That damn kid is our brother!" Misty shouted in equal volume. She was huffing and standing up once more with the chair fallen over. After a few more seconds, the sound of Rouge laughing was heard. "What?"_

 _Instead of answering, Rouge just kept laughing. It was starting to irritate her. "What?"_

" _It's just funny." The eldest said after calming down. "You say he's our brother, but you don't look at him like he is."_

" _What do you mean?" Misty said, dreading where she was going with this._

" _You think I haven't noticed?" Rouge said, leaning back in her chair. "The way you look at him? How much attention you put on him more than the others? The way you ghost your hands over him?"_

" _You better stop." She warned her, taking a step back._

" _What? I'm just saying the truth. I shot him and people think I'm sick?" Rouge continued with a manic grin on her face. "Then again, he's only half of us. Tell me: What's it like being in love with a bastard?"_

 _Opening her bag, Misty rifled through it and pulled out an envelope with Rouge's name on it. Instead of handing it over, she tossed it into her face and stormed to the door. Looking back, the tears were flowing with anger and disappointment aimed at her older sister. "Mom loved you so much she didn't even cut you off from the will. I hope you're happy."_

 _Not looking back, she knocked on the door to have the guards let her out. The last thing she heard was an insult calling her a bastard lover._

 _End flashback_

Getting off him, Misty tried to stop the beating in her heart. This was wrong. Rouge wasn't right. She didn't have those kinds of feelings. It was sick to feel that way about your siblings. A voice said he was technically half a sibling, but it still wasn't right! Looking at Jaune as he slept, the second eldest swallowed a lump in her throat as she watched his chest rise and fall. Going closer to his side, she turned his head to remove the ponytail he still had on. In the process she noticed her face was now inches from his. She could smell the whine in his breath and the short stubbles growing out from under his chin.

He was amazing with Viola and the others. He was a hard worker and knew what was right and wrong. Rouge was right. She was in love with him. She didn't know when but she stopped seeing Jaune as a little brother but as a man. But he wasn't her man. Leaning down, she gave a quick peck on his lips and let it linger there for just a few seconds. Getting up, she left his room and sat in the halls silently crying. Mustering strength to get up, she went to their mom's room and opened a drawer with her will and other important documents. Under the will was a letter of confession meant to be given to Jaune along with Crocea Mors.

" _Jaune if you are reading this, know that I love you and nothing would ever change that. I have sinned greatly against Hughes and your sisters by going against my vows. I gave into temptation and conceived with another man. The child result from my sins was you, Jaune. You are my child. The child of Juniper Arc and -"_

Misty stopped reading. Stashing the paper deep into the drawer until it was hidden, she shut the drawer and climbed into bed. Tomorrow was Monday and they all needed to be well rested for work. Unknown to her though, there was a bird watching from the windowsill and had a good view of the letter.

 **END**

 _They fought and they dueled, the brother was holding tight_

 _Me and the others were cheering at this sight_

 _Pyrrha took first charge, She had 'im on the rope,_

 _But Jaune drew first hit, he was giving us hope_

 _We'd all whoop and cheer_

 _Forgot about the fear_

 _The only thing that really mattered was the fight happenin' here._

 _It was the battle of the champions, and we were all there as witness_

 _To the battle of the champions, they got down to business_

 _Then BOOM!_

 _We all couldn't move, the tension turned hot._

 _We surrendered our guns, we gave up our plot_

 _It all built to this, and this is what we got_

…

 _Why?_

 _Cause Rouge shouldn't have shot._

 _End of the excerpt._

 **AN: From war to political campaigning. I've read a lot of fics that demonize the political campaigning as a scheme for selfish gain but haven't found any that show the supporting side in a humanistic 3 dimensional way. I know Rouge is portrayed as a bitch but I designed her to be like an extremist that finally got a gun in their hand. Some might think her character changed too fast, but look at it from a character's perspective. She's the eldest, she witnessed her parents almost divorcing, she survived a war, her dad died and she was closest to him, her mom kicked her out, she joined a rebellion, her country was split, her siblings abandon her, the pressure was building, she went to prison for life, and she's kept quiet of a family secret with her other sibling having incestuous feelings. She gave up caring.**

 **I bet some of you thought Weiss would appear in Ruby's Gaiden first. Well sorry, but if there's political opportunities happening in an area, then you can bet a Schnee would be there to add their foot in and rub noses to get some share.**

 **Don't expect any wincest anytime soon. Its not like that. If you reread the last chapters you might notice something was going on with her. It was building up to this moment of the family keeping a secret from Jaune.**

 **The original idea was for Pyrrha to go on a rampage trying to capture Jaune, but it made her seem like some sort of glory hound wanting to please her master. This Pyrrha that accepts a duel out of honor seems more like her. And I watched the latest episode of RWBY. Turns out aura doesn't protect you all the time. In this case, Pyrrha wasn't aware that anyone would fire at her so she had shields down plus she had all her focus on Jaune.**

 **So yeah. Humanize the characters so they don't seem like 2 dimensional flat characters with no reason or beliefs. As for the rap, I just felt like it after tons of Camp Camp extros.**

 **This is Aloe saying hope you enjoy.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Don't own RWBY**

 **AN: Hey there readers. Great to be back. Sort of. I've still got the damn thesis to work on and I feel like I got the short end of the stick on advisor, topic, and sometimes on the teammates. Planning to become an educator to younger students in animation and arts on the side while doing commissions and stuff. Sort of because I remember my experience in arts wasn't that good before college.**

 **But enough about my life, its time for the story!**

 **Come Together**

Months after the ball, Jaune and Pyrrha had gotten closer. Whenever they had the chance to have a break, the two would sometimes meet in the streets of Mistral or in Ansel where Jaune's sisters got to spend time with the redhead. As it stood, they were the best of friends who could confide and rely on one another. It also helped his sisters as they tried to fill a void Rouge had left. There was no replacing their oldest, but the pain was there and Pyrrha was a good person. She was kind with Viola, open to conversation with Opal, Vera, Lily, and Amber; and Misty was quick to offer her a room to stay in whenever it was late. It was like the special soldier was a part of the family.

Today was a Sunday and the two champions were spending their break in Ansel with Misty preparing lunch, the other four sisters relaxing in the living room watching TV. Relaxing in the kitchen enjoying a cup of tea and coffee with Viola sharing her crazy stories, both of their scrolls rang with a message from the general. Both shared a look knowing they had the same message. It stated it was urgent for them to drop what they were doing and head to his office immediately. With Pyrrha rushing to the bathroom to get into uniform and Jaune going into his room to put on his attire, the two were soon at the door trying to put their boots on.

"I thought today was your break?" Viola whined, hugging her brother's back as he was tightening his lace.

"I know." Jaune sighed, rubbing her head. "But it sounds urgent and we're both needed."

Not saying anything, Viola buried her head into her brother's back. The election was another month away and that meant the champions were made even busier trying to keep the general's image high. It also meant more essays, more reports, more campaigns, and more interviews. It became so much that Jaune would sometimes spend time in Mistral than in the bed of his home.

"I'll be back before you know it." He hugged her tightly, wishing he could stay.

Off to the side, two people wished the same. One was Pyrrha as she watched the scene in front of her. The other was Misty as she stood in the hall with a packed lunch for the two champions. When the two went off to change, she did her best to pack as much food as quickly to send them off. Seeing as how Jaune's hands were full of little child at the moment, the older sister gave both lunches to Pyrrha to hold.

"Thank you." The redhead bowed, giving a grateful smile. She had to hold on tighter to the food once Viola let go of Jaune and quickly latched onto her legs. "I promise we'll spend more time when we get back, Viola."

Getting encouraging words from the others, Pyrrha was the first out the door leaving Jaune to say his goodbyes. He's tried bringing them with him to Mistral before, but with something urgent he doubted they'd have a good time. Going through them, he made a list of requests they wanted from the capital and promised he'd get them all. A perk for working with Odsy was he believed in paying. Getting most of their requests, the only one who didn't ask for anything was Misty.

"Are you sure you don't want anything there?" He asked, pocketing his list away.

"I can't think of anything I'd want at the moment." She replied with a sad smile. Before he was out the door, she pulled him into a hug and gave him a kiss on the cheek before sending him off. "…I love you."

"I love you guys too." The blonde said, returning the hug and waving off to them once more. After that he was out the door trying to catch up with Pyrrha.

 **Mistral**

After catching up with Pyrrha, the two were at the front door of Odsy's office where three people were waiting outside. The two champions recognized the firs two, but the female was someone that looked familiar to a friend they met months ago.

"Looks like the kids are here." The blonde nudged the man next to him.

Taiyang Xiao Long and Qrow Branwen - Heroes of Vale standing in front of them. The general wasn't exaggerating when he said it was urgent. When Qrow stopped leaning on the wall to walk over to them, both young champions stiffened anticipating what he was going to do. Looking them over, Pyrrha's nose wrinkled at the heavy smell of booze and Jaune had to stop himself from gagging at the large amount of cologne he had on him. It had to be a semblance of smelling so badly since those two odors did not blend well.

"They're about Yang's age." The man muttered, his breath invading their noses and causing them to take a step back. "Heh. Looks like I scared them."

A slap to the back of his head had him reel back to the offender. It was the woman standing with white hair in a bun and hands behind her back with a stern gaze. "Its not you they're afraid of you mutt. Its your horrible smell."

Pinching her nose, the woman pushed him aside and looked over to her hand to see if there was anything stuck to it. Finding nothing, she turned back to the two. "So these are the two champions my little sister wrote to me about."

"Little sister?" Jaune muttered, knowing only another girl with white hair. "So you're Weiss' sister."

"Correct." She replied with a curt nod. "I am Winter Schnee. Lieutenant of Atlas' Army and its current champion."

"Qrow Branwen, if you two didn't know." The man with bad B.O introduced himself behind Winter.

"Pyrrha already knows me, but Taiyang Xiao Long." The older blonde introduced himself to Jaune, shaking hands with the younger blonde. When he didn't let go, he gave Jaune a wink. "I'm over the whole shot to the mouth and balls."

That got a cough from Winter and full blown laughter from Qrow at the memory. It was in the news years ago when one of Vale's heroes was called in to aid Mistral of the unruly rebels.

"I should still apologize." Jaune replied, with a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that. Jaune Arc."

"Arc, huh?" Qrow mumbled, looking over Taiyang's shoulder. "We knew an Arc before the Color Wars. Great huntress. What was her name again?"

"Juniper." The older blonde said, releasing Jaune's hand. Looking the other blonde over, he saw the sword by his side. "I take it you're her son?"

"I am." He nodded, gliding his hand on the sword. "This was her sword."

"How's she doing by the way?" Qrow asked casually. "Been a long time since I saw her. Must've been over a decade by now."

"She… she passed away." There was an awkward silence in the air with Qrow's arms dropping to his side.

"Oh. I'm-I'm sorry for your loss." The drunkard pinched his nose as he gave his condolences. "Damn."

Placing a hand on Jaune's, Pyrrha squeezed it to give him some comfort. When he squeezed back, she saw he had accepted it.

"We've moved on from it." He told them. "Mom was a great person and she wouldn't want me and my sisters wallowing in despair."

"Keep moving forward." Tai patted his shoulder. "I like you kid. You're doing your parents proud."

Before they could continue talking, Winter caught their attention with a snap of her fingers. "While champions forging bonds is fine, we are on a tight schedule."

Remembering why they were there, the group composed themselves and let Winter take the lead. Standing in front of the door with one hand behind her, she knocked three times and opened the door when Odsy told them to enter.

When Pyrrha and Jaune walked in they saw the general sitting in his chair, but he wasn't alone. Three other men and two girls were with the general of Mistral standing in front of his table as he sat with fingers linked. It was to be expected of these men being here if the champions were outside. There stood Lionheart, Ozpin, and James Ironwood looking at them with business in their minds. On the chairs were two girls the champions of Mistral never met. One was a girl of brown skin with shoulder length hair, while the other sported a pixie cut with a bird tattoo on her arm.

"Glad to see you've made it." Odsy welcomed his two champions and nodded to the other three. "Sorry to call you so abruptly on your day off. As I've said, this meeting is urgent."

"We can see that." Jaune commented, looking to the three other figureheads in the room.

There was a silence in the air as the group waited for someone to speak. Judging by the stern faces on three of the four faces that brought them together, it seemed there was a meeting before the champions entered the room. Qrow, seeing no one talking, decided to speak up. "So what's so important you gotta bring the champions of Vale, Mistral, and Atlas along with the two Maidens to this meeting?"

"Maidens?" Jaune asked Pyrrha, getting a shrug in return.

"Qrow!" Ironwood barked, reminding him of the others in the room. Before he could say anymore, Ozpin put a hand on his shoulder to back down. "Ozpin, he-"

"They were about to know anyways." The headmaster of Beacon said under his breath.

"General Odyssey, can you tell us why we were summoned? What is going on?" Jaune asked the only other person in the room he could trust next to Pyrrha.

"Everyone take a seat." The general told them all. When only Ironwood refused, Odsy gave a glare. "That wasn't an offer. It was an order."

"As it stands, I have a higher rank than you." James leaned forward. "I don't take orders from you."

"And you are out of your jurisdiction and a guest in another country." Odsy stood up at full height and leaned forward. "I suggest you act like a proper guest and show some respect."

"Harmon, please." Leonardo tried to quell the general.

"I'd stay quiet if I were you Leonard. This is your mess I'm trying to clean up." Odyssey said coldly. "Well, Jimmy?"

There was a silence as the two men glared at each other. Off to the side, Winter had her hand on her weapon with Pyrrha doing the same. Next to Jaune, the two heroes of Vale were leaning forward in case things went south. The maidens were growing agitated as well with one tapping her finger rapidly and another crossing her arms. Outside, the skies were turning dark emphasizing how bad things were turning.

"Enough." Ozpin slammed his cane on the floor, dissipating all tension and putting their eyes on him. "James. Do as the general says and take your seat. We are guests and must show respect as he said. Vernal, Amber. Please calm down."

Taking a few seconds to not break eye contact, Ironwood found a seat next to Leonardo and waited for the meeting to formally start. As he did the light returned to the room and all champions relaxed. Inhaling a breath and holding it, Odsy slowly exhaled and let his eyes roam over everyone present in the room.

"Before we start. Care to explain why we had to wait for your two champions to arrive?" James asked gruffly, not liking his time wasted.

"I'll answer that when you can tell me why you two brought your champions to my door." Shutting the other general up. "Before you lot came along so abruptly without any notice, the three of us were currently taking a much needed day off. If you haven't noticed, we're trying to unite a nation. In fact, what business do any of you have coming into Mistral when you're all facing your own problems?"

If Ozpin was bothered, he did a goof job of masking his emotions.

"It's true we have our own problems to face, but the chances of Mistral cutting alliance with the circle is a bigger problem." Ozpin stated with hands resting on his cane.

"You have no one but yourselves to blame then." Odsy put the cards on the table. "Either Atlas releases Mistral from their grip and moves out of our boarders, or Mistral cuts ties with the Inner Circle and joins forces with Vacuo. That's the ultimatum."

"And that is why we are taking this to court for a legal compromise with a jury of our choosing." The headmaster of Beacon said leaning forward. "If you really are a person of the people, then you shouldn't be afraid to refuse."

"…If we do this, we involve ALL of Remnant." Odsy said after a few minutes. "The jury will consist of five people from each nation including Menagerie."

"You can't expect them to join so easily." James voiced in his disbelief.

"If it means going against you and Atlas, I'm sure they'll be all for it." The general of Mistral smirked, getting a small rise out of his fellow general. Turning to the champions he addressed them. "Prepare yourselves in a weeks time people. We're going to be putting up our cases to get our way."

"Sir, if we're going to court who will be the judge?" Pyrrha asked, familiar with the court system.

Looking to Lionheart, Odsy's group doubted he was going to be for them since they were taking his job. Even if the jury was the one to vote for them, the judge could give them a hard time in stating their cases.

"I can phone in someone on fair neutral grounds." The general said, having a certain someone in mind.

"And who will these two be supporting?" Jaune asked, looking to Amber and Vernal.

"We're on our own side." Vernal answered, dragging her chair to place next to Pyrrha and Jaune. "For this occasion, it means siding with Mistral."

Looking at the numbers, they had an even amount of people with Lionheart not participating. In a weeks time, they'd be in court fighting for Mistral's demands. If they were able to get this right, then everything they've worked on wouldn't be a waste.

 **Back in Ansel**

"Going to court." Amber repeated what her brother said in disbelief as they sat in the living room. "You're actually going to court."

"It's crazy I know, but that's what's going on." Jaune said while enjoying being back with his sisters.

Pyrrha was in Mistral collecting some papers to bring over for them to look over. As for the general, he was giving papers to Ozpin and Ironwood to keep the trial as fair as possible. In the chance that the two men weren't going to play fair, they had their own hidden papers that couldn't be ignored.

"Objection!" Viola shouted, slamming her hand on the table while pointing at Jaune. Laughing at her antics, he placed her on his lap and held her close.

"Just you wait." He whispered into her hair. "Once we get Mistral back, I'll have all the time in the world for you and the others."

"And Pyrrha too?" Viola asked, adding her friend into the equation.

"And Pyrrha too." Jaune added. "We'll be able to tons of things when we win. And I'll be here to stay."

Viola liked the sound of that. Tons of things to do with her brother and he wouldn't go away. Hearing a knock at the door, Vera was the one to answer. When she returned, it was with three girls, one of them being Pyrrha. Seeing the new people, Viola got off Jaune's lap to greet them.

"Vernal. Amber." Jaune introduced the two. "I didn't know you'd be coming."

"Pardon the intrusion." Amber bowed. "When we bumped into Pyrrha, she told us she was bringing papers over for you two to look over. Since we're siding with Mistral, we need to know this stuff as well."

"If it means getting those fogy headmasters off our cases, I'm all for defending Mistral." Vernal stated her reason.

"Well, we got a week to prepare so lets make the most of it." Jaune agreed, leading them to the kitchen table. With all those papers, the small coffee table in the living room wouldn't be enough. "Misty, we'll be using the kitchen table for work."

"Have it cleaned up before dinner." The second eldest replied from her room.

As the group spread the papers on the table, Vernal and Amber noticed a bunch of girls peeking at them from the kitchen entrance. After an hour into their work, the youngest girl walked over and sat herself into Jaune's lap casually without bothering him from his reading. The guy wasn't even fazed as he just continued to read and would pat her head a few times.

Two hours into the reading, another woman came out to prepare them some drinks and a snack. From her voice, they deduced she was Misty. She took the little girl off Jaune's lap and lightly scolded her to let him be. Sharing a glance with each other, the two maidens had the same question.

"Ok, I really need a break from all this reading." Vernal sighed as she stood up to stretch. "So far we've got a bunch of files that show Atlas being dicks and other stuff putting Vale's integrity into question. Like really, where is their money going?"

"From the looks of things, it goes straight to the huntsmen academies and festivals with another going to their defenses." Jaune answered, squinting at the numbers not matching. "Sketchy how they can amass this much amount of technology and progress without losing their annual income."

"I think I have enough for today." Amber yawned, rubbing her eyes. They were dry from scanning pages and connecting theoretical dots. Sipping at her drink, she wished it was something stronger than apple juice. "From the looks of things, we have dirt on those two and they have nothing on us."

"We still have to be careful." Pyrrha warned them. "Ozpin's been known to have a silver tongue, and James has connections that could ruin us. Besides that they have the heroes of Vale backing them up. We might have dirt, but of they somehow scare the people into thinking we need the Circle, then we lose Mistral."

That got the two maidens to sit down. They forgot the court wasn't going to give them a win just by the stuff they had. If they lost this, then it was bye-bye freedom to them and being stuck in some school or being watched twenty-four seven. Looking back at their papers, they thought of strategies to go against anything the headmasters would say. It was about convincing the people to side with them, and so far it was still iffy. After one more hour, they were either having heads on the table or leaning back on their chairs.

"I think its time you all retired for today." Misty walked in with the other girls following to take the papers off the table. "Besides, its nearing five and we need to prepare the table for dinner."

"Sorry Mist." Jaune scratched his head as he helped arrange the papers neatly. "I'm kind of surprised the four of us were able to go through all these papers so quickly."

"Power of teamwork." Viola chirped, handing over her messy stack to Jaune. After that, her attention shifted to the two maidens. "Are you two gonna stay for dinner?"

While Vernal wasn't so easy to cave, Amber was a sucker for children. Instantly agreeing, the Spring maiden couldn't say no without feeling left out.

"Why don't you four go to the living room?" Misty shooed the champions and maidens out after the papers were cleared. "Take a breather and come back when dinner's ready."

"Misty, you're the best." Jaune commented as he lead the three girls to the TV.

Viola followed the four while Misty and Lily and Amber(the sister) stayed in the kitchen to prepare dinner. Relaxing on the floor, the five decided to watch whatever was on TV. After channel flipping over boring stuff, Viola was quick to stop them when she saw their faces on the news.

" _From Vale. Top story as Headmaster Ozpin and General James Ironwood have called the Mistral's General Harmon Odyssey to court in regards to the alliance."_ A woman with purple hair, Lisa lavender reported. Pyrrha knew who she was but didn't like her since people would compare their voices being similar. _"In a disclosed room, the two men plus the general, along with the headmaster of Haven with their champions sat together and discussed the talk of a compromise. With no such luck, the headmaster has brought this into court with General Odyssey setting the terms that all Remnant will be involved."_

After that, Lisa started listing the people to be a part of the court. The full jury wasn't put out yet, but the people in the offence and defense were obvious.

"That was fast." Jaune commented, ignoring the reporter as he looked to the other three. "It was like three hours and Vale already has news on this. It's like they were expecting the trial was going to happen."

"Or they knew beforehand." Pyrrha said with suspicion in her tone. "The meeting was fairly short."

" _In other news, a prodigy is rising in Vale."_ Lisa continued to report. _"She is the youngest to enter Beacon Academy two years early ranking at first place in the boards. The daughter of one of Vale's heroes, Ru-"_

Vernal shut the TV off, not caring for the news. As it stood, she needed a drink.

Off in an office in Mistral, a certain general nodded at how this was going. Vale was trying to have them dance to their tune – but he was going to be the one making the tunes.

 **Timeskip – Trial Day**

For the remaining days, the group to defend Mistral were calling in people they could trust to be part of the jury. While the champions and maidens took to securing people from Mistral, Odsy was securing people from Menagerie and found a judge from there too, Ghira Belladonna. Off in the chairs, his wife and daughter were placed as part of the jury along with three other faunus. Vacuo was a bit tricky since they weren't too keen on sticking their hands in others' affairs. It was obvious why. Luckily, the general managed to get five young upstarts to volunteer. Students from Shade.

As Jaune and his group sat in court, he looked behind him to see his sisters waving at him as they waited for the trial to begin. Off to the side, there was the jury. Jaune was surprised to see Weiss sitting in one of the seats. Nudging Pyrrha, she pointed to their friend present for the trial. Smiling the two thought to meet her during a recess. Across from Jaune's group was Ozpin and James. Out of the three champions sitting with them, Winter was the only one that looked serious.

"All rise for Judge Belladonna." The bailiff announced, getting all to stand as Ghira Belladonna strode in with robes on. "Be seated."

"Thank you." Ghira said, looking down on everyone from his podium. "Mr. Odyssey, your opening statement."

"Thank you judge." The general of Mistral said, standing up. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. We stand for the independence of Mistral away from Atlas rule."

After that, the general took his seat. Feeling someone staring at him, he turned to his side to see Jaune giving him a look. "What?"

"That's it?" The blonde asked, expecting more. Off to the side, James Ironwood was stating his case for Mistral to keep their alliance.

"It's the opening statement. After that we can put our cases up." He explained quietly. "Jaune this is your first case, so listen closely. There's a procedure to this. Listen close to what the other side has to say and wait 'til they're done. Then you can break apart their words and use what you have in your hands to show them something else. Set the pace and stick to what you were assigned with."

Nodding, Jaune waited for them to be called up. Pyrrha was up first and she had her own papers to help her.

"Good afternoon. I'm Pyrrha Nikos representing the independence of Mistral." The redhead started with an introduction. "Since the joining of the Inner Circle, the state of Mistral has deteriorated as we've split apart. The reason? Because those in the Outer Circle refuse to adhere to Atlas law. And we have a right to refuse. The laws of Atlas contradict the constitutions on which we were founded on when our forefathers found this land. So far, we've had our right to expression, right to petition, and our right to peacefully protest stricken. That is all for my side."

Then came the questions from the other side.

"Can you tell us again how it is Atlas' fault that Mistral split apart?" Ironwood said rhetorically. "It's not the fault of the Inner Circle that the citizens refuse to obey the laws agreed upon when they signed the contract agreeing to our terms. Like all citizens that disobey the law, they should have been confined to prison."

"I've just stated that those laws contradicted the constitution Mistral was found on." Pyrrha repeated herself. "And the people were not the ones in agreement when the contract was signed. It was the council without consulting their citizens. And the council are not Mistral."

"But they represent them." Ozpin interjected, shutting Pyrrha down. "They are the ones who hold Mistral's interests at heart whether the citizens are in agreement or not."

Pyrrha cursed under her breath at how they were being played. The two men were using the law for their side. Stepping down, it was Winter that went up next in the podium. "In regards to Mistral being put under Atlas' laws, we did so to keep Mistral in line and to help them. Atlas has prospered following our own laws, and hoped Mistral could do the same. So far, it has been the citizens themselves impeding their growth. That is all for my side."

"Say Winter, can you point to me where Atlas is on the map?" Verna asked, abruptly standing up. "Because last I checked, we are in _Mistral_. The laws that made your nation so dust sparkling awesome don't apply to the land of freedom and expression. In fact, Atlas is being a hypocrite taking Mistral's freedom of expression when they can make their own music. There's Weiss Schnee in the jury as proof of Atlas' pride in musical innovation. Can you tell me how that's fair?"

In the jury, Weiss shrank into her shoulders when all eyes were on her. She was part of the jury for Atlas, but she was neutral in her decision.

"I don't- Atlas has-" Vernal wasn't done yet.

"And you're saying we've impeded ourselves by _not_ following Atlas rule." She kept going. "So far, we've done well ignoring your laws if the election is anything to go by. I have a record showing production rates increasing and a decrease in crime rates since General Odyssey's rise."

"Those crimes being from a rebellion of your citizens." Ironwood weakly interjected.

"And stopped by the citizens since the news of independency." The Spring maiden shot back. "An independency you are trying to impede."

After that, there was talk in the court as witnesses and jury talked amongst themselves. When Ghira hammered for order, he asked for Vernal to sit back down. As she did, she looked proud in getting the people on their side once more.

"How?" Amber asked, remembering Vernal being the most laid back as they read.

"Fountain of knowledge." She replied, tapping her temple. Jaune felt confident after that. Ghira was the judge, but they needed to win the jury's votes. Looking at Vacuo, Menagerie, and Mistral; they were on their side.

Composing himself, it was his turn to head up. "Mistral is currently trying to unite itself into the glory it once was. Scratch that, we are trying to make it better than it was before. It's why we plan on amending the constitution for the freedom of both humans and faunus. And that's not the only amendment we're working on. We know the constitution is full of contradictions, and that goes the same for freedom. Mistral is trying to make itself a place for equal opportunity for all who enter, no matter what race. And it needs independence to make it happen."

"Can you elaborate what the amendment will do for both humans and faunus when you say equal opportunities?" James asked, trying to find holes to enter.

"Job opportunities and living arrangements." He answered with no hesitation. He's helped written and read so many essays about it during the campaign; it was like basic knowledge to him. "The constitution written says people, but there have been cases where citizens use the constitution to discriminate against faunus not calling them people."

There was a murmur from the faunus in the crowd, but Ghira slamming his gavel silenced them for Jaune to go on.

"And wouldn't changing the amendment make it seem faunus aren't being seen as people?" The general of Atlas asked, getting eyes on Jaune at the implication.

"Faunus are people too." The blonde defended, not taking the bait. Saying a yes or no would ruin what he meant. "Changing the amendment for specifications gives them the right to defend themselves. It doesn't mean they are separated."

"From the research papers handed to us, seems faunus only have opportunities to be farmhands but can't hold office." Ironwood commented. "Can you expect them to suddenly run for office?"

"Of course they will. That's what equal opportunity means." Vernal interjected, getting irritated with the headmasters trying to find flaws. "And at least when they are farmhands, they don't get to pull the cart while the horse watches."

"What?!" James stood up, offended by the Spring maiden's words.

Ghira ordered him to sit down, but kept a neutral face. When he asked Vernal if she'd like to retract her statement, she agreed.

"I forgot Atlas uses robots instead of horses." She changed her statement, getting a rise from the crowd. Ghira once again asked for order.

Just when Jaune thought he won, Ozpin spoke up. "Is it true you are the former rebel leader?"

"I am. But what does that have to-"

"Were there any faunus in your faction?" The headmaster of Beacon asked, not giving Jaune time to finish.

"Yes. I was friends with a few of them bef-"

"In this report written by you, it stated you abandoned them along with the others to go home. Is that true?" Odsy did not like what was happening. Ozpin was trying to make a villain out of Jaune and discredit him.

"I didn't abandon them. I left the field thinking I did enough." Jaune clarified, his temper slowly rising.

"And the moment you left, they resorted to violence." Ozpin shot back with a smirk on his face. "Forcing you to come back and stop them."

"Excuse me, but what does his history have to do with the faunus' equality?" Odsy stood up, getting everyone back on subject.

"What I'm getting at, is will your independence last after you've stepped down or will it devolve into chaos once more? What's to stop the amendments being changed or people breaking it because none of you are there to uphold it?" The headmaster of Beacon asked, making a valid point.

There was silence as the whole room thought it over. There was no way of making sure equality and independence would stay when they were gone.

"We'll just have to have faith." Jaune answered, going with what his mind and guts was telling him. "We can't have all the answers to the future, and we can't have full control of it. The best we can do is try and work to make sure it's a good one and have faith our descendents learn from our mistakes."

Not having anything else to say, Jaune sat down at his table with Pyrrha patting him on the back. The jury was still neutral, but they could see they won favor with a few. Holding his papers, Odsy wondered if he should just jump the gun or wait his turn.

With Amber and Vernal on their side, they easily outdid Vale's two heroes but had a tough time with Ozpin attacking their statements that weren't disagreeable. The men weren't sure what to go with besides trying to embellish how great the Inner Circle would be. Taiyang stated how Mistral was still new to the Circle and needed to grow with it before it could adjust, but it was shot down comparing the year gap between the other two nations. Then came James.

"Mistral leaving the alliance is in violation of the contract signed when they agreed to be a part of the Inner Circle." He stated, ignoring the crowd. "It was signed upon by the council representing Mistral. To break from the alliance after all we've contributed can be seen as a declaration of war."

At the drop of the W word, all hell broke loose with the crowd and jury shouting. Ozpin pinched the bridge of his nose while Ghira was trying to silence the crowd. When the group calmed down, Ironwood continued. "I am only stating what was put into the contract."

"Why should we even believe the contract?" General Odyssey spoke, rising form his chair. At the mention of war, he decided to not wait his turn. In his hand, he had a copy of the contract. "Its not like the Inner Circle was honest with everything else they've said in this. Permission to read, your honor?"

"Granted." Ghira slammed his gavel.

"As Mistral joins the Inner Circle on date XXXX, they have agreed to be in alliance with Atlas and Vale. All resources the nation holds will be shared equally and vice versa." Harmon read. "Skipping the formal text, here's the enumerated list of things promised to Mistral after joining, which was promised to be delivered in a month prior. Technological advancement, better defenses equal to Vale, and resources from both nations as a sign of good will and faith."

Turning to the audience, he had his hands on his hips. "Show a raise of hands if any have received any advanced technology from either nations." None raised. "Any sign of a defense system?" Still none. "Were there any produce in the stores that were imported?" There were raised hands. "Any from Vale or Atlas?" The hands retracted. Turning back to Ironwood, he crumpled the copy of the contract. "At least Mistral is honorable enough to admit our mistakes and fix it. What's your excuse?"

"You were holding a rebellion." James answered, standing by his statement. "How were we supposed to hand those over when your nation was split in two?"

"The contract didn't give any conditions to the items promised, so you have no excuses." Harmon shot back. "Even when we were finally uniting, there hasn't been any sign of the things promised. But you know what we did find digging through this contract and other papers? We noticed all of Mistral was being taxed for being part of the Inner Circle. And where were all the funds going? To Vale and Atlas. It explains why the two nations are getting rich while not giving to Mistral and Vacuo. But Mistral is still dirt poor despite how much resources Atlas and Vale takes from us."

When the general of Atlas averted his gaze, Odsy crossed the room to the podium to look James in the eye. "Look me in the eyes and tell me I'm lying. Look at all the people of Mistral in the eyes and say its not true."

Ironwood didn't say anything. He simply stepped back from the podium, and walked back to his seat. When Ghira slammed his gavel, it was to announce a five-minute recess before they could get to the last two speakers. Breaking off, the five speakers for Mistral left the room to mingle with the crowd and jury. Not all were willing to go near them, but just close friends. For Odsy, it was his old war buddies while the two maidens stuck close to Jaune's sisters. As for Mistral's champions, they were catching up with Weiss.

"Sorry if we had to go hard on your sister in there." Jaune apologized first, getting a shake of the head from her.

"It's fine." The heiress waved a hand. "Honestly, I think she's enjoying this even if she does lose. She's currently making history, and we're all a part of it. Even me! My vote could be the very tipping scale of this nation's independence."

At least she was enjoying herself. Both champions were stressed wondering what Ozpin or Ironwood would throw their way. Feeling a tug on his shoulder, Jaune turned around to meet a woman with long black hair, amber eyes, and cat ears. Blake Belladonna, daughter of the judge and sort of princess of Menagerie.

"Hello." Blake bowed as a sign of courtesy and respect. Before arriving to Mistral, she studied on their customs and felt she should bow to one of the champions. After doing so, she stuck her hand out shake. "My name is Blake Belladonna."

"Jaune Arc." He replied, taking her hand in his.

"Thank you for your service to faunus kind." She said, shaking his hand. "I've bee following the Mistral news regarding faunus rights."

"If it means the unity and freedom of our nation, its worth it." He said, holding her hand up to kiss it. Behind him, the two didn't notice Pyrrha's smile thinning. "This is Pyrrha Nikos. And I think you know Weiss Schnee."

"Pleasure to meet you." Pyrrha shook Blake's hand. "I hope Menagerie will side with Mistral for their independence."

"You have my support." The cat faunus nodded, on the side of freedom. When she turned to Weiss, there was a bit of an awkward tension. "Its nice to meet you Ms. Schnee."

"Weiss is just fine." The SDC heiress said, holding her hand out for Blake to shake. "I haven't made my decision yet, but I'm curious how Mistral would grow if they became independent. Tell me, how is Menagerie? I've never been there."

Unlike the ball or the courtroom, things were a lot civil in the hall. As the girls talked, Jaune looked around and spotted Ozpin talking to someone. Craning his neck, he saw it was a boy his age with a pink streak in his hair and a girl with orange hair. He wouldn't think on it too much though. What Ozpin did in his own time wasn't his to nose in. When the bailiff called everyone back in, it was time to get the last two people to speak. Ghira walked in later and had them all proceed. General Odyssey was up now and he was their ace.

"It's been a day everyone." He talked to the crowd and jury. "I know we're tired, but this matter wont be solved until you decide whether Mistral deserves independence or not. To Vale and Atlas, I ask you to imagine yourselves in our shoes. We've had to survive being pulled into the Color Wars, cleaning up the mess left behind, and cheated of our rights. We don't have any more cases to go against Vale or Atlas, but we hope what we gave was enough. We're ready to become independent even if it means cutting ourselves off from the circle."

For his statement, no one on the other side had anything to say. After a few more seconds and no one spoke, Ozpin was next. Standing at the podium, he said nothing as all eyes were on him. Looking to the champions and maidens waiting to counter him, the headmaster of Beacon could tell they were prepared to shoot down anything he had to say. So, he gave something they wouldn't shoot at. "I have nothing to say. That is all."

"We reconvene tomorrow." Ghira said after Ozpin took his seat. "This will give the jury time to cast their judgment. Until then, speakers will have no contact with the jury to influence them any further."

Without anything else to say, everyone left court.

 **Bar in Ansel**

"To the four of us!" Vernal raised her glass in the air with cheeks already pink. No one stopped her because they were just the same.

Once the group got out of court, it was obvious by the crowd who'd win. The general told them not to celebrate too early, but the smirk on his face betrayed what he thought and felt. Around them people who were in the court shared the news with relatives, packing up the bar as they wanted to celebrate with Mistral's liberators. No one knows who called the name out, but it stuck to the crowd and that was another title added to them – Mistral's Liberators.

"Woo!" Amber laughed at the height of her life. "Freedom feels a lot drunker than I thought."

"So what're your plans once freedom is sealed?" Jaune asked, still cognitive enough to speak clear.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm traveling." Amber answered first, resting her hand on her chin. "Vale wanted me to go stay with them, but I didn't want them telling me where to go. I'm taking a white horse with me, and roaming the lands wherever I please. Maybe go into the desserts of Vacuo or see what Menagerie is all about."

"And Atlas?" Vernal asked with a smirk.

"Screw it." The Fall maiden blew a raspberry. "We had a taste of what it was like for a year here, don't expect me to go there."

The group laughed before calming down. Taking another swig, Vernal was the next to answer. "I'm planning on finding my own pad to stay in. Find a click of people that get me, y'know? Being stuck in Haven Academy? Not this independent woman."

"Ooh~." Amber pinched the Spring maiden's bicep when she flexed. Looking to Pyrrha and Jaune, she waited for them to answer.

"I'm still going to be a champion even when we get independence. I'm going fight so we can stay free." The redhead said, blowing some hair out of her face. "Truthfully, I never thought I'd ever get to reach the age of eighteen until today. *sniff* It's hard to believe we've made it this far."

When she started tearing up a bit, the two older girls were quick by her side hugging her and saying sweet words.

"None of us thought we'd ever make it." Jaune said, rubbing his side where his scar was. "It's probably why we're fighting so hard."

That got the girls' attention as they listened. "I remember almost dying a few times. I remember seeing a person getting burnt alive, losing my friends, almost getting burnt myself, and getting shot in the gut. Even after the war, there was the whole mess to clean up."

Pyrrha held her side, remembering the shot she took along with all the other tragedies she suffered. She remembered running tunnels alone and scared as a little girl, her parents and friends being buried under rubble, walking streets aimlessly starving, and fighting to show her worth. For Amber and Vernal, they remembered the war too and the people that thought dearly of them that they gave them a gift as they died.

"To the fallen." Pyrrha said, wiping a stray tear leaking out.

"To the fallen." The three raised their cups and drank.

"So what about you, Jaune?" Amber asked after they put their cups down. "What's your plan?"

"May as well keep the job that's helping me pay bills." The blonde replied, leaning back a bit. "I just hope I get more time off now to spend it with my family."

As the four drank, they were unaware of a meeting happening in Mistral.

 **Odyssey's office**

"This is concerning." Harmon said while looking at a folder on his desk. In front of him, Ozpin and Lionheart were seated with conflicted expressions.

The general of Mistral was a wildcard, but that didn't mean he was an unreasonable man. Ozpin needed him on his side – his performance in court proved otherwise. James was excluded for this considering how badly things were. If Ozpin could compare the two generals, both were ambitious and had their beliefs. The only difference was that Ozpin felt the general in front of him was easier to reason with – so long as he did not perceive you as an enemy.

"I've been aware of maidens and the relics for some time now." The general of Mistral said, leaning back in his chair. Seeing the two surprised, he chuckled. "When two young women I don't know come to my side, I don't just take it as a grain of salt. I asked, and they answered. It's called honesty, Ozpin. Not very hard to do."

"There are some things that shouldn't be shared." He replied, twisting his cane.

"You mean like how I didn't spill everything in court?" Odsy said, leaning forward. "Of the real reason why Mistral was being taxed and never received any of the promised items?"

"What are you getting at Harmon?" Leonardo asked, not understanding.

"We were put in the Inner Circle and crippled, because we were perceived as a threat." Harmon spat, glaring at Ozpin. "During the Color Wars, Haven and all of Mistral were able to fight back against two superpowers invading their lands. The only reason we survived is because those two superpowers stopped to make peace. And now that they became allies, they see a threat in Vacuo and Mistral. Was that the ole Jimmy's idea or was it a shared thought?"

"That isn't true." Ozpin denied, eyes narrowing at the accusation.

"I think it is true." He continued. "Why else would we not get any proper aid? The rebellion? Its arrogant thinking sending one hero would solve anything. Looked to me like a publicity stunt to show Vale was doing something. And now that we're growing and gaining independence, you and the general of Atlas show up in person to stop us."

"We came-"

"Because of the maidens. I get that." The general cut Ozpin off. "You wanna take them away, but they don't want to follow. The court ordeal was a cover for this, and you winning would've meant killing two birds with one stone. You get the maidens and keep Mistral under your thumb as the submissive servant. I didn't get to my position by just saluting and going to where they pointed."

There was silence after he finished talking. Ozpin couldn't fault him for thinking that way. He could've pointed it as coincidence that they found the maidens during a crucial point in the country's time of change, but it was weak to believe. He was not in a place to be making any demands. But a simple request could be given. "Please look over the documents I gave you."

Humoring him, the general opened the folder and started scanning through it. He made no sound, but his expression was showing he was in deep thought. After a few more minutes, he closed the folder.

"It's an interesting program you're trying to open. From the names I spotted on the back, I can guess you didn't waste time getting a few to join." He said, sliding it back to Ozpin. He heard Lionheart release a breath of relief seeing some sort of progress. "Question though – where is the facility going to be in?"

"Vale." Ozpin answered, not mincing words. "I know you might have some apprehensions but-"

"Alright."

Hearing that, both headmasters stared at the general that just gave an approval.

"Just like that?" Leonardo said, surprise in his tone. "You're going to agree to this, just like that?"

"I agree with that document." Harmon said, a smirk on his face. "On the condition both of them decide to go together. One doesn't go without the other, and it has to be their decision to go or not. I'm not giving orders or commands. Their choice."

"That's fair." Ozpin nodded, seeing some hope. Standing up to leave, he was quick to sit back down when the general started talking again.

"Of course, there's also the compensation in the off chance they do go." The general added, surprising the two. "I know it says nothing of compensation in the papers, but I feel as though this needs to be an even trade."

"And what do you propose is worth equal trade?" The headmaster asked.

"Everything promised in the last contract for joining the Inner Circe plus interest." Harmon said without any hesitation. "If they go that is. On the chance they stay, then it's still fine. Mistral can prosper on it's own."

Contemplating the offer and the only window of opportunity, Ozpin had to make do with what was given. He was seen as an enemy – a defeated enemy, but still an enemy. But the general wasn't doing this out of good will. If he got those two to go on board, then chances of Mistral gaining attention would boost it into a larger phenomenon. He was shooting in the tiniest window of opportunity.

"I accept your terms." Ozpin folded. Seeing himself out, it was just Leonardo and Harmon in the room.

"He is not a villain, you know." Lionheart admonished his old friend when Ozpin did not come back.

Sighing, the general opened a drawer to take out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.

"Strangely enough Leo, I can't agree with you." He said, confidence gone and replaced with a sweating man with shaky hands. "Its hard to get a read of that man. I don't know if he's lying, telling the whole truth, or playing me."

With hands still shaking, he nearly spilled whiskey all over his table and onto some important papers. "Dammit!"

"Allow me." Leonardo took the bottle. Pouring a glass each, he raised his glass. "To Mistral."

"To Mistral." Odsy mirrored before sipping. Putting it down, he looked to Lionheart who was staring at him with sympathy.

"You were saying?" Leonardo motioned for the general to continue.

"From all the people in court, the one person I felt I could trust completely besides my champions and the maidens – is James." Odsy continued, surprising Lionheart. "I know its surprising regarding how badly I antagonized the man today."

"You have been known to surprise me a lot over the years. Both as a student and as a general." The headmaster nodded. "After all these years, I still cant understand that brain of yours."

"I can relate to the man. The only reason we were fighting is because our beliefs clashed. He's not as smart as me, but his heart is there." The general continued after taking another sip. "We're both men who wear our hearts on our sleeves. And everything we do is for our nation. We don't care who calls us what our how badly history slings mud on our names, so long as our land and its people get what's theirs."

"And you don't think Ozpin fights for his."

"I don't know what that man fights for. I don't even know what he believes in. If he even believes in anything at all." Harmon ran a hand through his face. "Pretty sure he stands only for himself and his goals – whatever they are."

Finishing his drink, he heard the spilling of whiskey and looked to see Lionheart refilling his glass. Forgetting about the headmaster from Beacon for now, he enjoyed his small victory of the day. He may be scared, but that just made him cautious – which made nearly impossible for him to miss any details. Taking another sip, he and the headmaster of Haven reminisced of the old days.

 **Jaune's house**

Jaune fumbled with his door as he tried to get into his house. Vernal and Amber were still fine to take Pyrrha back to her place, so it was just him. Going back to the door, he was having trouble trying to open it. The darn thing was not budging no matter how much he turned. Not hearing footsteps behind the door, he didn't hear the knob unlocking or the door swinging forward. Still holding onto the knob, he was pulled forward into the person who opened up. Luckily he was caught before they could both fall to the floor. Looking to who was holding him up, it was Misty.

"Hey Mist." He smiled goofily, still not clear in the head.

"Sh." She held a finger to her lips. "The others are already asleep and it's a school night for Viola."

Nodding, Misty guided him to his room while making sure he didn't knock anything down in his way there.

"This is the second time you've come home drunk." She whispered, holding him by the shoulder. "I hope this doesn't become a bad habit or an addiction."

Getting him to his room, she helped him get out of his suit. It was a bit of a challenge since he was being affection trying to hug her a lot.

"Jaune, please." She whispered a bit annoyed when he wouldn't keep still. When she finally got his booze smelling shirt off, she pushed him onto his bed where he started laughing. Shushing him once more, he covered his mouth and started giggling instead.

"We did it." He whispered, spreading his arms out. "We did it."

Smiling at his enthusiasm, she laid next to him and stroked the hair out of his face. He and Pyrrha really did it. They fought for their independence and won. She was so deep in thought, she didn't realize she was playing with his strands of hair and making it into more of a mess than it was before. Looking at the time on his nightstand, it was nearly one in the morning. He had to be in court early by ten if he wanted to hear the jury's verdict. They'd also have to drop Viola off to school first on the way and she'd have to prepare her lunch.

Giggling a little, Misty wondered how her life came to this. It was like she and Jaune were parents in a house of seven. Blushing at the thought, she looked to the drunk blonde staring up at the ceiling with stars in his eyes. He was taller than her. Taller than mom and dad. And he had broader shoulders too with a complexion tanner than all of them. He had nothing that resembled Hughes at all, but he had some parts resembling their mom. Like his blonde hair, but they were a bit darker compared to her pale blonde locks. No one would ever think they were related.

"Jaune, you know I love you right?" She whispered, scooting closer to him while using his arm as a pillow.

"I love you too Mist." He whispered back, hugging her with the one arm. "You've done great taking care of us."

"You've done your part too." She mumbled into his chest. Putting a hand on it, she felt it rise and fall with his breathing.

Staying like that for a few more seconds, she gulped as she felt like asking him something important to her.

"Hypothetically speaking, what would you feel if I wasn't your sister?"

"Hm?" Still a little drunk, inhibition and smart thinking were gone from Jaune's mind. "But you are my sister."

"But what if I wasn't, and I still said I love you like I do right now? Like we were never really related?" She asked, heart racing quick because of what she was doing.

Sitting up, Jaune looked at Misty going through her question. She was beautiful with her pale blonde locks and great figure that wasn't too fat or too skinny. She didn't have blue eyes like him or Amber, but they were like shiny coals inherited from Hughes.

"I think I'd be the luckiest guy to have you." He answered, making her heart skip a beat. When she sat up to look him in the eyes, he saw uncertainty in them and pink on her cheeks.

For some reason, when she placed a hand on his cheeks he didn't move back. Her robe was loosened a bit, with one side sliding down revealing a bare shoulder. Then she leaned forward and spoke directly in his ear.

"We aren't related." She whispered as she slowly straddled his lap. Pulling back to look at him, she saw surprise in his eyes. Taking his hand, she guided it to her face while slowly pushing him down onto the mattress. Without guiding his other hand, she felt it rest on her waist and felt it sliding down.

On that night, Misty kissed him on the cheek… and everywhere else. Come the next day, there'd be a lot of questions to be answered.

 **END**

 **AN: To those reading, yes this is still Aloehisja writing. Unlike RWBY Plus J, the filter for jawdroppers isn't applied to this one. Inspired a bit by GoT so thank them for that. Besides, its almost like John Snow and Daenerys if you squint hard enough. Its not going to be a JaunexOC(incest) story the whole way through. We're not even close to the ending or real beginning of the story. I'm just giving backstories so no one will be left asking "Where did this Deus Ex Machina shit come out from?" It'd be really unprofessional to just add something out of nowhere.**

 **But what about Juniper cheating on her husband? I planned that from the start of the story. There were even tiny hints like Rouge saying Lily supposed to being the last child. Or how she dismissed him as being her brother. They were hinted like Misty's feelings. Not so obvious but there.**

 **So regarding the chapter: Not much physical action, but tons of political action. I know most courts don't go that fast, but I don't want to drive this on and on with tons of timeskips and paper descriptions. I may have antagonized Vale and Atlas with James and Ozpin as bad guys this chapter, but they were just representing their nations. The only reason this chapter puts it that way is because we're not seeing things from the Ruby Gaiden side.**

 **To Mincraft93: Love your enthusiasm. I keep getting the feeling Ozpin is hiding a lot of stuff too. As for the father, you don't HAVE to think of it as Qrow yet. It's still unconfirmed. On the whole contraceptive thing: Even cheaters can forget to use protection. If cheaters were so great at not getting pregnant, then shows like Jerry Springer and Maury wouldn't exist.**

 **Don't expect me to write incest lemons or any other heavy stuff. Use your imagination if you want. There are descriptions of the characters already. If I wanted to make lemon stories, I'd put in something with less politics and more action. Maybe name it Remnant: Sex and Violence.**

…

…

 **Which might sound like a good idea, but for sanity reasons I wont write it. Even if a 300 and Mad Max world fused together would sound cool. And then make it like a battle of the sexes where guys are the weak link being hunted by the women. Which makes it even more awesome given the fact there are tons of superpowered huntresses but little men in the series, so its gonna be something. But I wont do it. I already got 3 long stories I'm working on with a few short ones so no. Not until one is finished.**

 **Long rant over, this is Aloehisja saying happy holidays to all you readers.**


	6. End

**Disclaimer: Don't own RWBY**

 **AN: Nice to know some of you appreciated last chapter. Hope you guys have been paying attention to Jaune being a bastard because that's going to be something going on for the whole story. Not going to say much, but here we go!**

 **Wham Bam Shang-a-Lang**

As Jaune tried to stop the hammering in his head from a bad hangover, he felt a nice weight on his chest and something warm shifting to keep hold of him. It was nice and soft and smelled of honey. Not opening his eyes, he wrapped his arms around whatever it was and moved his hands enjoying how smooth it felt to the touch. When he felt a draft, his eyes quickly opened realizing he was naked! Ignoring the hammering in his head, he looked down to who was on top of him and saw the pale blonde hair of Misty. He didn't have to look further down to know she was as naked as him – he was feeling it. Just as he was about to panic, patches of memories flooded his brain. Him walking to the door, Misty, his bed, and then-

" _We're not related."_

Looking to his clock, it was three in the morning. That meant two hours before the others woke up and three before Viola came into his room. Silently getting out of his bed and out of Misty's arms, he grabbed his pants on the floor and her robes that were discarded in a heap. His heart was pounding at all this new information in his mind as he draped Misty's robes over her. His sister-not sister was naked and he felt and remembered things that made him sure they had gone all the way. Suppressing the bile rising in his chest, he didn't know whether it was from the alcohol, the revelation he was adopted or possibly a bastard, or from the fact he and Misty had done _that._

Looking to Misty's sleeping form, he wondered how this would change everything. Could they go back to how they were? Would he want to go back? How long had she known, and who else knew? Were all those times she's kissed him on the cheek a sign that she loved him more than a brother? There were so many questions that swam in his mind, but one stood out – Who were his real parents? Looking to Misty, he could ask her but would she answer them? Did she even have all the answers?

He couldn't be here though. This was too much for him to handle. Putting on his other clothes and finding his sword, he quietly left the room and went out. The streets were still quiet and the sun hadn't shown any sign of rising yet. He didn't know where Vernal and Amber were staying, so that only left him with going to Mistral.

 **Streets of Mistral**

Walking the streets, he tried to wrap his mind on everything. If he wasn't related to them, then what did that mean for him? Who was he really if he wasn't a true Arc? Who else knew?

Walking aimlessly, he looked at every street light littering the city until he saw one that caught his eye – a hospital. The same hospital where he met the general and got treated for his wounds. And hopefully the same hospital that had a DNA test. Entering the building, he saw it was quiet with very few people inside besides the doctors and nurses. Walking to the reception, the lady behind the counter became fully awake seeing him.

"J-Jaune Arc?" She gasped, standing up and wondering whether to salute or bow. Watching her stumble, Jaune raised a hand to calm her down. "What brings you here? Is there something important going on?"

"It's important, but more on a personal level." He replied, leaning in to whisper next. "I want to know if you guys have a DNA test here. Maybe a few other things – I might be a check up overdue."

Nodding the woman, looked into her computer and hummed when she found his records. Looking up to him with creased brows, she had a concerned frown on her face. "You're right about your checkup being overdue. We remember bringing you in for treatment a few times, but no check ups since the Dust War. But why the DNA test?"

"It's vetted interest." He lied. While he may be in a position that outranked her, his same position was close to that of a celebrity with no privacy.

Not pushing further, the receptionist gave him a form to fill out and instructed him to a room where he would be going through his check up. Jaune wasn't sure what the check up would entail. Since its been a long time since he had one, he didn't know what he'd be doing. In fact, what would the DNA test be like? Were they going to take his blood? A sample of his skin? His – Misty and her sisters had their own check ups while he was busy working, so their files should be in there too along with blood sample data.

"I thought Hildy was yanking my chain." The doctor said as he entered. Behind him, there was a nurse that accompanied with a clipboard. As the doctor looked Jaune up and down, the patient was feeling a little uncomfortable from the spotlight. "Wow. Just wow. I'm sorry, it's just amazing to be in front of you, sir."

"Jaune is just fine." The blonde replied. "I know it's late, but I need this."

"No, I get it." The man mused, walking to a chair. The blonde was guided to another chair by the nurse who was rolling his sleeve up at the same time. "We all know how busy you are. There isn't that much time in all the days, you need to use what you can. Just relax your arm there."

Doing as told, a rubber was wrapped tightly around his bicep near the elbow. After flexing a few times the vein on his elbow was visible for the doctor to prick. Looking at his blood being collected, Jaune wondered what was in it. If not the blood of an Arc, then what? Snapping out of his thought, he saw a small cup with a lid held in front of his face by the nurse.

"If you could just go fill this up." She said, putting the pee cup in his hand. Pointing him in the direction of the bathroom, it took him a while but he came back with a nearly full cup. "Thank you."

The next few tests weren't that hard with him running on a treadmill, testing his breathing, and then checking his heart. Checking his scroll, it was nearly five in the morning. Not long after, he got his results showing he had a healthy body. He was advised to drink more water, but it wasn't anything too serious. Now it was time to get what he was really after.

"It says you wish to have a DNA test." The doctor asked, looking at his scroll. Staring at the hero who was seated across from him, he had a brow raised. "Is there something you are unsure of?"

When Jaune didn't answer, the doctor didn't push to pry. Whatever his patients' reasons, they were their own. And as a professional doctor, whatever the results, he was bound not to tell anyone else due to doctor-patient confidentiality. "Is there someone you wish to be traced with?"

"Do you have the data of Juniper Arc?" He asked. This was it. After this, he'd get his answers.

 **Amber and Vernal's Hotel Room**

Pyrrha groaned as she smelt something musty in front of her. Slowly opening her eyes, she was met with a pale foot dangling in front of her face that reeked. Rolling away from it, she found she was on the floor of a hotel room still fully clothed and now with a bad hangover. Looking to the two older women laying in bed, she groaned when the feeling of a stiff back came next. Stretching slowly, she got the kinks out before checking the time on her scroll.

The redhead hissed a curse when the bright lights invaded her eyes. After adjusting, she saw it was six in the morning.

"Oh crap." She ran a hand through her face. The trial was going to start in two hours and she was far from her home. Going to Amber, she lightly shook her. "Amber, wake up. We need to get ready for the trial."

The Fall maiden grumbled and batted her arm away. Groaning at the older woman's immatureness, Pyrrha opened a window and prepared herself for the light. The shrieking from all three women in the room was enough to wake up the whole building. With a nice hangover morning and all three now wide awake, Pyrrha was quick to head out. Looking at the landmarks, she could guess she was near Ansel – which was in her luck.

With all the time she's spent visiting and staying overnight, the redhead had a few extra clothes stashed in. Feeling her pockets, she sighed in relief when she felt the extra key Viola gave her in case she ever needed to come over late and they were all sleeping. When she first came there, she felt like an outsider. But as she gradually visited more and got to know the Arc family, it became weird for her not to see them at least twice a week.

Seeing the house in the distance, she dashed towards it and made a slow stop once she made it to the porch. Listening in, she could hear the sounds of Viola and the others getting ready for school and work. Checking her scroll it was Tuesday, which meant Opal was making breakfast. Knocking, she waited for someone to open the door and let her in. Waiting a bit, it was Lily that greeted her.

"Pyrrha. Hi." Lily said, ushering her in. Looking behind the young champion, she quirked a brow. "Is Jaune not with you?"

"He's not here?" She asked, remembering Jaune going alone last night. She would worry, but she had faith her fellow champion could take on a thug or eight even when drunk. "Maybe he went early to the courtroom."

Lily could agree to that possibility. Her brother was a lot of things, but someone to sit still wasn't one of them. Announcing to the house that Pyrrha was in, Viola was quick to get out of the kitchen and greet the redhead with a tackle to her legs.

"Good morning, Viola." Pyrrha greeted the youngest of the Arcs while rubbing her head. Looking back up to Lily, she remembered why she was there. "Do you mind if I use your shower? I'm running a bit late to the courtroom."

"That's what happens when you party before the judge's decision." Lily chided her, pulling Viola off of the redhead's leg. "You better make it quick if you want to get there on time."

Saying a quick thank you, Pyrrha was quick to go down the hall to where the showers were. Passing Jaune's room, the redhead saw his door was opened a bit. Thinking it over, she's rarely entered Jaune's room before. She remembers Viola and the others dragging her into their room but never his. Peeking in, she saw it was a normal room with things guys would usually keep. A few comic books, some pictures, and a messy bed. Looking at his desk, she saw how messy it was with tons of papers littering the top. Poking her head in further, her nose was confronted with another smell worse than Vernal's feet. It was raunchy and sour like sweat and something else mixed in.

"What are you doing?" Misty's voice asked behind her, scaring Pyrrha.

Turning around to face the oldest Arc, Pyrrha took note of her appearance. The normally beautiful Misty wasn't her cheery and welcoming self. Her eyes were puffy like she was crying and her hair was a tangled mess. She would have asked how the older Arc was, but the way Misty was carrying herself felt like she'd be walking on eggshells.

"Misty! Oh, hi." She replied, closing the door to Jaune's room. "I was just curious since Jaune's door was open. Um, I don't mean to offend but does his room usually smell so …um …bad?"

"Don't think too much on it." She sniffed, wiping her eyes. "I'll clean the place before I head out."

Walking to the showers, Pyrrha gave Misty a quick glance before walking in. There was a bit more concern when the redhead saw her walking with a slight limp. If she was hurt or in pain, the young champion wanted to try and be there for her. Turning on the showers, she made a note to meet with her after the trial was over.

 **Mistral Courtroom**

When Pyrrha arrived to the front of the courthouse, she saw Jaune was already waiting at the stairs looking the same state as Misty. Walking close to him, there was the faint smell of alcohol mixed with his room and what reminded her of a hospital coming off him. Once Vernal and Amber came looking fresh, Pyrrha was thankful Amber kept a bit of perfume on her person. Spraying Jaune to mask his smell, it took the three of them to have him look presentable for the judge's final verdict.

When the courtroom started filling in, Pyrrha turned around to see who was sitting. Lily and Amber were present, but Misty and the others weren't there. Turning to Jaune, he didn't bother to turn around and was focused on the judge seat. She chalked it up to his nervousness on the decision. Thinking it over, there was a still a chance the people would vote against them. Looking to General Odysseus, he was stone-faced as well with hands gripping the table tightly.

"All rise for Judge Belladonna." The bailiff announced.

When Ghira entered and had them all sit back down, Pyrrha tuned him out as he started recounting the events of last time. Looking around, she saw everyone was waiting for the results. Turning to Ozpin's group, he was the only one with a calm demeanor. She could guess he would act the same even if he lost the trial.

Thinking it over, if the did win the trial and she stayed by General Odysseus' side; what would she do then? Yes there were Grimm to exterminate, but what about her personal life? Would she keep fighting instead of finding a peaceful life? She could fight to maintain peace, but when would it stop? What if it never stopped? Would her purpose be just a gun to protect others with nothing for herself?

Looking to Jaune, she envied him a bit. His purpose was to his family. She could make it her purpose as well, but would that be enough? What about a legacy for her to leave behind? And would all she accomplished live on, or would it crumble like what Ozpin said?

Looking at Vernal and Amber, she wondered if she could do what they planned. Wandering around the world looking for a group to be with and just see what Remnant had to offer. But she already had a group that she loved to be with. They were in Mistral with one of them sitting near her. Pyrrha had all that she needed, but what was it that she wanted?

"-Mistral is now free from Inner Circle." Ghira announced, slamming his gavel.

Standing up to clap with the others, Pyrrha was glad they won. It was another victory to put on their belt that would no doubt be placed down in history. Looking to Jaune, he was also clapping but his eyes showed his mind was somewhere else. Nudging him, she gave him a victorious smile he returned halfheartedly. Looking back to his sisters, they were too busy cheering with their friends they brought along. When she turned back to him, he was gone in the crowd and walking out the door. Frowning, she excused herself to go after him.

Heading out the door, she saw him quickly going down the stairs with a folder gripped tightly in his hand.

"Jaune." She called to him. When he didn't turn around, she sprinted and caught him by the shoulder. Turning him towards her, she saw how restless he looked despite the victory they achieved. "Is something wrong? We won."

"I'm sorry Pyrrha." He said, gently taking her hand off him. "I need to go. There's someone I need to see."

"Is it Misty?" She asked, concerned for the two. She had a feeling there was a problem concerning them.

Backing away after shaking his head, he turned to leave. Before he was out of earshot though, he answered who he was going to visit. "I need to see Rouge."

A hand ghosting to her side, Pyrrha didn't dare follow him. Call it selfish, but even if they were partners, she had her own issues. When Rouge shot Pyrrha in the side, she did more damage than she thought. If she were to see the eldest Arc sister, the redhead wondered if she could control herself not to pay back the favor and then some. Watching him leave, she could only pray for his safe return.

 **Mistral Containment Cell**

Jaune was able to easily walk into the room with his status. It was still strange for him to be saluted by guards twice his age, but he couldn't tell them not to since it was part of their job. When he shared the news of independence, they were quick to spread the news around the whole jail. It also made them a bit more lenient in his requests to be left alone with the prisoner.

Sitting at a table while waiting for Rouge, he steadied himself when his hands started trembling. Looking at the folder containing all the papers, he wished he never found out and remained ignorant of all this. At least then he was happy and things were simple. Hearing the clicks of a door and chains clinking, he looked up to see two guards bringing Rouge in. After she was chained to the table, they were left alone as he requested.

Looking her over, the time in prison was rough on her. Rouge was now sporting a side cut almost close to a Mohawk with some dark eyeliner on one eye. Even with her new appearance, she was recognizable to him. As for how she was looking at him, it wasn't hate or disgust as he imagined. She was looking at him like this conversation was going to happen sooner or later.

"Long time no see." She said gruffly, leaning back in her chair. Cracking her neck, she got comfortable. "Heard from the halls that Mistral's free. So did you come here to tell me you told me so?"

"I didn't come here for that." He said, hand flat on the folder. Gulping he continued. "I came here to tell you that you were right."

"What?"

"You were right when you said I wasn't your brother." He clarified, sliding the folder to her. Elbows on the table and hands covering his face, he couldn't look at her. "It's probably why it was so easy for you to shoot me back then. Probably why you were always mean to me too."

He wasn't an Arc. At least not fully. Hearing pages flipping, he looked up to see Rouge scanning the papers and squinting at all the results. When she reached the end she flipped back to the beginning once more before slamming a fist on the table.

"This doesn't make any sense." Rouge muttered to herself, scanning the papers to see if there was some kind of mistake. Scrunching her brow, she looked up to Jaune with confusion. "I was there. I saw mom give birth to you! How is it that you- this has to be a mistake."

"It's all there though. Nearly zero percent matches to Arcs, zero percent to Hughes, and the rest unknown records." Jaune said, looking to his imprisoned sister. "The doctors have no records on who the other person is. So I came to you. Do you know who my dad is?"

"Like I'd know!" She growled, slamming the papers down on the table. "What the hell is this? First the war, then the rebellion, now this."

Looking Jaune over, Rouge tried to see any trace of Juniper on him. His hair was a darker shade of blonde, his skin was tanner, his eyes a darker shade of blue, and jaw line was nothing like Juniper's. Turning away from him, she tried to remember everything on the day Jaune was born. He was born in their old house in Ansel right in the living room. Hughes was the one to clean him with the family doctor assisting in removing the chord. Any chance of a baby being switched was out too since he was never brought to the hospital until Juniper was strong enough to follow.

So the question, was the DNA test flawed or was something else going on? Looking over the papers once more, Rouge looked at the details. It said Jaune had traces of Arc blood in his DNA with other traces from Vale and Vacuo. Looking over her sisters, they had all traces leading to Mistral with a small percent coming from Atlas. Looking at the miniscule result, he could be considered more of a long distant cousin than their brother. Turning to Jaune who was still a coiled mess across from her, she clicked her teeth seeing his pathetic state. One of the heroes of Mistral was in front of her acting like a big baby because of something a stupid paper said. Not liking it, she tossed the folder his way.

"Shouldn't matter anyways." She replied. "I may hate Juniper for cheating on dad, but he was a stand up guy. He's the one that raised you, built you up, and even taught you most of what you know. Ask me who your dad is, I'm gonna say it's Hughes Arc. Some other asshat comes here claiming they fucked Juniper and made you; they can kiss my ass. You're Hughes' kid. And those girls in Ansel? They look at you as their brother."

"Not all of them." Jaune said, not wanting to meet her eyes.

"Misty, huh?" The fact Rouge new it was Misty startled Jaune. Staring at her in horror at how she knew, Rouge smirked getting it right. "She may have a heart of gold and a good pokerface, but I can see things better than others. It was obvious to me she loved you more than a brother."

There was a silence between the two after that. Shifting in his chair, Jaune had a new question unrelated to the news.

"You're being real cooperative. Why?" He asked out of curiosity. "I thought you hated me. I'm the reason you're in here."

Sighing, Rouge tousled her hair before looking at him. "I had a lot of time to think, okay? I'm not going to say I'm sorry, but I can say I was wrong about a lot of things. Taking my anger out on you was one of them. Dad knew you weren't at fault but I was too angry and blind to see. As far as my feelings go, I don't love you – but I don't hate you. I'll just say you're family. As for Misty, I'll let you make your choice."

Funny enough, he could accept that. Maybe she wasn't some nice princess, but he couldn't imagine her any other way.

"So now what?" She asked him. This was still a sort of family reunion for her, but Rouge would take it. At some point, she thought he would one day come into the prison cell just to shoot her. Instead, here he was a mess despite the good news she heard. "You have your answers and won against the big shots. What do you want to do now?"

Thinking on Rouge's question and all she said, Jaune remembered there was a lot to be done. Constitutions to be amended, laws to be made and reinforced, and promises that needed to be kept. Things were far from over. But as far as things went in the house, he wasn't so sure.

"I don't know." He said, leaning back in his chair. "As far as work goes, I have a plan. But I don't know if I can go back into the house and look Misty the same way again."

"Why?" Rouge muttered nonchalantly, seeing no problem. "It's not like you fucked each other, right?"

There was an awkward silence in the room as Jaune said nothing. Rouge waited for him to act embarrassed and deny anything like that happened like a virgin, but nothing. Eyes widening, she got off her chair and leaned forward with mouth open in shock.

"No fucking way!" She shouted. Her shout made him flinch, but he still didn't look her way. "How? Why? When?"

Jaune still wasn't looking her way, but she could tell he was uncomfortable about it too. Trying to calm down, she felt a headache rising. She knows all her siblings too well to know Jaune wasn't the one that started it. If he was here asking questions about his lineage, then it obviously showed he wasn't cool with incest. It obviously meant Misty must've made the initiative. As far as how and what they did, she didn't want to know. Too bad imagery was still easy to form in her head.

"Goddamit Mist." Rouge rubbed her temples. She felt like throwing up, but there was a lump in her throat blocking anything from spewing out. Fuck whatever a bunch of papers said. The guy in front of her was still her little brother, and one of her sisters just slept with him. She lost her cool now and was it her or was she burning up? Trying to feel her forehead, she nodded in confirmation that she was burning up. Clenching her hands, she felt her strength weaken - signs that the shock was slowly giving her a fever. Looking at Jaune once more, he was still quiet and not looking at her. "At least say something! Really man! What the fuck?"

"What do you want me to say?" He mumbled, covering his eyes. "I was drunk? She was there? I'm sorry?"

"Since when did you even start drinking?!" She slammed a palm onto the table. Her headache and blood pressure were rising with each second now, she wouldn't be surprised if she had a heart attack on the spot. "At least tell me you guys used protection."

Waiting for him to give him news of some safety, she didn't receive any. Crumpling into her seat, she started whimpering in dismay of what's happened to her family. Was this karma coming at her for fucking everyone over? By having the bastard screw her sister and potentially knock her up? If there was a god listening, could she have one wish to turn back time and redo her mistakes so she never went to jail? If she wasn't trying to reform her ways now, could this small mercy be given so she at least wont be an aunt to some inbred child? She'll even become a nun if that's what it took! Oh wait! Turns out Jaune wasn't technically related to them, so it wouldn't be an inbred – it'd just be an incest baby!

Jaune wasn't sure what to do watching Rouge whimper in front of him. Family connections aside, he guessed the situation with him and Misty took a lot more priority. When she stopped panicking, she was back to glaring at him with a face that held no compromise.

"Fucker, you're going to get out of here and check up on her right now." She ordered him despite being handcuffed. "Get out of here and do what you think is right."

"And what would that be?" He asked, not knowing what it was himself.

"Like hell I'd know." She growled, kicking the bottom of the table. "If I had my way, I'd tell you to pack your shit and get out of that house. But you moving out wouldn't solve Misty's problem. So go to her, talk, get an idea yourself, and for the love of god if she got pregnant – pray I come out of here merciful enough not to cut your dick off."

Shaking his head, Jaune thought he could have ended things with a nice hug, but it looked like that wasn't in the cards. He came in not knowing anything, but he was going out with only half of what he needed to know and still more questions. The papers claim he wasn't fully related to the Arcs, but Rouge said she was an eyewitness to him being birthed. How could that be then? The test couldn't be fake since it was matched with the Misty and the others. And what about guy that Juniper cheated with? Could he be his biological father or was there something Jaune was missing from all this?

After leaving the room and getting back into the streets, he could hear people celebrating the freedom they won. Passing a few TV stores, he saw the news showing live footage at the courtroom. But he wasn't going there. He was going straight home to have a talk with Misty of where they stood and whatever else was missing.

 **Ansel**

Misty lay on the couch staring into the ceiling with an empty gaze. Everyone else was either at school or at work and she was here wallowing in regret. She took advantage of Jaune in his drunken state and enjoyed every second of it. And she knew why she did it. She was scared she would lose him to another woman, and her heart wasn't ready. At first when Pyrrha arrived, she tried to be nice and let whatever happens happen, but it only made her feelings grow stronger. When Amber and Vernal appeared and Jaune started spending more time with them, something in her snapped.

When he came home drunk and alone, she acted on impulse. And like most impulses, there was regret when people looked back and realized how bad a decision they made. Curling into a ball and burying her head in a cushion, she groaned at what she did. Now everything was ruined and he'd probably never come home again. Closing her eyes, she remembered the days when they'd share a tent when they were rebels. Jaune would come back into the tent holding an outdated player he still used today. He'd be playing another song a rebel managed to pirate while humming the tune. Then he'd casually lie next to her and give her the other side of the earphone to listen.

But those days were over. They both grew up into responsible adults with duties to do. Remembering she was in her early twenties and Jaune was nearing eighteen, she wondered if they grew up too fast. The way he worked himself to the bone, she sometimes thought he was her age instead.

"Mist?"

Getting startled out of her thoughts, she didn't realize Jaune had returned home. Clutching her chest, she took a deep breath to calm down. It was eerily quiet in the house with the only noise being the birds chirping outside. She didn't want to look at her – Jaune, but not talking to him would delay the inevitable. In TV dramas and romance novels, the female would do whatever to avoid the problem and would even try to move on with another man. But this wasn't a drama, and she could feel love for no other man because she felt no other could compare. Scared inside but putting on a pokerface, she looked him in the eyes and hoped this would be swift and painless.

"Hi." She said lamely, not getting up from the couch.

"Hey." He said in return, walking around the couch to sit by her legs.

After that short greeting, they didn't both wanted to say something, but talking about it wasn't as easy as they thought. As far as Jaune was concerned, he doubted Misty would know anything more than Rouge on his predicament. Even with the papers in his hands, they meant nothing to him if there wasn't an explanation to how it was. And currently, the one thing on his mind was where he and Misty stood in their relationship if he decided to believe the DNA test or not.

"About last night." He said, going in hot. Seeing her shift a bit in place, he was glad she wasn't running out or telling him to be quiet about it. "Are you…?"

He trailed off unable to say it completely. How was he supposed to ask if she was safe when they bumped uglies? Or if he shot in or pulled out? Running a hand through his face, he felt a headache creeping up fast. It made the courtroom trial easier compared to this.

"Why did we?" He finished a question, just to get an answer.

"Shouldn't it be obvious?" Misty whispered, hugging her knees. Looking at him, she saw it was equally hard to talk about. "Maybe we don't have to talk about this. We could just play it off as a secret between just us."

Part of her was berating herself for putting that out as a solution when not long ago she was ready to resolve the whole thing.

"I'd like that." He replied, but there was doubt in his voice. "It'd be easier to pretend none of it ever happened. …But it did, Mist. And its not the only thing we can pretend isn't real."

Holding out his DNA test result out to her, she took the paper and scanned it. Just like with Rouge, her eyes widened and she adopted a confused look on her face. Them sleeping together was put in the back of Misty's mind with this new bomb placed in her hand. Running a hand through her hair, she tried to think of any logical way this could be faked. Looking at where he got the results from, she saw it was a hospital they knew was reliable. Staring back at him, she didn't know what to say.

Like him, she felt lost on where they stood. Was this real? What was he if this was real? Did this make it ok for them to be together? _Could_ they even be together? There was that letter, but what good was it with this popping up? Wait a minute! The letter!

"Jaune!" She said, jumping off the couch. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him with her to Juniper's room. Juniper's will had instructions for her or Rouge to give the letter to Jaune when he was eighteen, but with him knowing things a bit early it could be forgiven.

"Misty, why are we in mom's room?" He asked after she let go of his hand.

The room itself hadn't changed since his her death. Nothing in it changed at all. All the girls did what they could to keep it the same by always washing the curtains and sheets and keeping it tidy. Anything and everything they could to remind them that it was Juniper's room.

"The letter." She responded, opening the drawer to take the paper out. "Mom had a letter for you to prove you are hers. She wrote a letter confessing-"

Pausing, she remembered once more why she dreaded giving the letter to him. It was the letter of Juniper confessing she cheated on their dad. It was the letter saying Jaune was the result of her infidelity.

"That she cheated on Hughes, right?" He finished for her when she didn't speak. When she faced him, he had a sad smile to show he accepted the fact. "I had a visit with Rouge before I came here. She told me a lot of things."

It seemed a lot of unpleasant news was piling up today. Ignoring how Jaune went and talked to _her_ , she fished out the letter from the desk. If Rouge talked, then any remnant of hesitation would be wasted if everything was laid bear. "This letter is Juniper's confession that she cheated on dad. But most of all, its written proof that you are her child. …Along with who the father is."

Jaune's eyes widened at that news. It was there in front of him. Taking the letter, Jaune looked it over and saw it was Juniper's hand writing on the cover. If he just opened it…

"So this is the proof that Juniper gave birth to me?" He asked Misty in a whisper. Seeing her nod, he looked back to the letter and resolved what he needed to do. He placed the letter back in the drawer and closed it. When Misty asked what he was doing he shrugged not really knowing himself. "I think its enough for me. I mean, you said the letter was proof Juniper gave birth to me. I think its all I wanted to know. That I wasn't some baby switched in a hospital."

Holding the results of the DNA test, he crumpled it up and shoved it in his pocket to throw away later. "Test results or not, I was raised to be an Arc and that's all I know who I am right now. Even if I'm not a hundred or fifty percent one, its all I know."

"Do you wanna know who your father is?" Misty asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks Mist, but I'm fine." He shook his head, taking her hand in his. "I've lived this long without knowing. Why fix it now?"

Even though he was acting so calm, something was still bothering her though. He was too accepting of a lot of things. If she were in his shoes, she'd be mad or broken. "Are you sure you're okay? You're not mad or scared?"

"I can't see the point in getting mad at something that's happened a long time, Mist." He said while running a hand through his hair. "I mean, it's a hard pill to swallow but it happened. I just… can't see the point of raging when there are still a lot of things to be done."

In front of Misty, Jaune had shown her he had really grown up. Some teenagers were still moody children acting like they knew better. Other times they'd make a big scene of things and try to take things out on anything close to them. But here he was acting mature and showing her he'd become an adult.

"And what about what we did?" She asked, taking a seat on the bed. "Jaune, I took advantage of you. You were drunk and weren't in the right state of mind. It's considered rape at this point. Why aren't you mad at me?"

There was a new silence after she said that. He was the one that changed the subject by showing her the DNA results, but the very beginning of the conversation was still in the front of their minds. When he took a seat next to her on the bed, he placed a hand on her knee and rested his head on her shoulder.

"I can't stay mad at you, Mist." He said in a low whisper. "We've been a long ways and stuck together through it all. You've been so good to me, I can't stay mad at you for long."

Feeling his hand go up a bit higher, Misty's heart was racing of what was happening. It was getting hard to focus on him talking when his hand was rubbing her thigh gently. Sucking in a breath she placed a hand on his cheek and caressed it. Sparing a glance to the clock on the table, it was still two in the afternoon.

"We still need to pick Viola up at four." She whispered, nearly gasping when his hand went deeper.

"It's still a long time away." He replied, taking the hand on his cheek and kissing it. Trailing kisses up her arm, he stopped when they were nose to nose.

"Jaune." Misty gulped, a part of her not sure if she was dreaming or not. "Why are we doing this?"

His reply was what broke the dam and released all her doubts. "Shouldn't it be obvious?"

Claiming his lips, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down into the bed. From there, things went naturally.

 **Half an hour to four**

Laying next to each other naked, Misty traced a finger on Jaune's chest while he laid flat on his back with ine hand twirling a lock of her hair. It felt amazing for the two of them and the passion behind it was real. And just like last night, it was a safe day for her. Feeling her get up, he stopped playing with her hair when she was looking at him with a serious gaze in her eyes.

"We can't keep doing this, can we?" She asked, knowing this wasn't something they could keep up.

She could feel it during their session. There was so much passion and heat, it was as if it was going to be their last – which it was. Like last night, it was a safe day for her so it was fine for them to take a risk; but if things escalated, then it spelled trouble for them and a hard explanation to the others.

"It can't, Mist." He said, confirming things for her.

They love each other, but its something that cant happen – test results or none. To everyone and their sisters, they're still family. This wasn't them starting something new together and facing the world as a team. This was them letting go and agreeing on what needed to be done.

"We should get dressed now." Misty said, trying to start their path to something normal. "Viola will be waiting for us at school."

After getting dressed and walking out the door together, it felt strange for them to not walk without linking arms. Things were still fresh on their minds, so trying to go back to something normal wasn't going to happen quickly. In their minds, it was normal for them to walk with their arms linked since they've done it before – but now it felt wrong. Looking at her, Jaune could tell she was having a hard time too. Remembering his talk with Rouge, he wondered if she was right on something.

"Maybe I should stay in Mistral for a few days." He said with a bit of uncertainty. It's not like he's never stayed in Haven overnight, but with how things were, he wondered if him staying away would escalate to moving out. And thinking on it more, what would Viola think? The others understood his duties, but she was the one that wanted him to spend time with her more.

Feeling Misty squeezing his arm, he knew she was having a hard time deciding whether to say yes or no. After a few more steps and letting her think it over, she nodded.

"I've tried having you close and pushing my feelings down for a long time. We can see where that lead us." She said with a scoff at herself. Relaxing her grip on his arm, she released a long breath. "Just promise me you'll at least call or visit when you can. The others might not say it as much as Vi, but they miss you too."

"I'll do what I can." The outer champion nodded, seeing the school up ahead. And waving at them from the entrance was Viola. "Now comes the hard part of breaking the news to Vi."

Humming in agreement, Misty predicted a tantrum when they had to break the news to her.

 **Pyrrha's Apartment**

 **Evening**

Pyrrha was lying in her sheets as she contemplated the bomb Generel Odyssey dropped on her when they were done celebrating the liberation of Mistral. It was obvious his seat in government was secured, so the battle was nearly over. Looking at her scroll, she sighed seeing the screen saver of her, Jaune, Amber, and Vernal sitting together in a bar plastered with different degrees of drunk happiness. The two older women didn't waste time in leaving after all was said and done. She should've guessed it was going to happen. Both ladies were liberal, independent, and adventurous. She just wished they at least stayed a bit longer to give a proper goodbye and not leave like the wind. Who knew where they would be? And where would she be?

"Vale, huh?" The redhead muttered, remembering the choice Odsy gave her.

It wasn't like it was a win lose situation. If she stayed in Mistral, she'd be a hero enforcing the laws and creating a balance. If she went to Vale under the program of Ozpin, she would meet others her age and show the people in the Inner Circle the might of Mistral. But it wasn't just up to her. The general gave the condition that she couldn't go without Jaune following her. And knowing her partner, he was too devoted to his family. This wasn't going to be a simple day or week trip with a quick return back. Once they signed in, they were in for the next six years. She told the general her view on Jaune's chances of saying yes, but he told her to wait for his answer instead of basing things on assumptions. He even pulled her close and whispered something to her.

' _It's alright to miss a few people you want here too.'_

Of course the man would catch on to her. She's spent so much time at the Arc household, the general knew she'd made close connections with them. She was just too prideful to admit she'd miss Jaune's sisters and waking up to a loving family. Either way, this was a deep conflict for her. It was also personal since she wanted to have both. She could go to Vale and make it shown to the world that she was great and prove her dead parents they were right; or she could stay and live happy with people she cared about.

Rolling in her bed in frustration, she put her thought to a halt when she heard knocking at her door.

"Pyr?"

It was Jaune. Remembering he went to visit his imprisoned sister, she quickly vaulted off the bed and flung the door open. She was not expecting to see him looking so messy or with a large bag behind him. Looking at his appearance, she gasped at the scratch marks on his cheeks and how badly his hair was sticking in different direction. It looked like someone was pulling on it. Looking at his arms, she saw traces of teeth marks that were slowly fading away. Ushering him in, she pulled a chair and had him sit while she rifled through her desk for a medical kit.

"I take it your visit to your sister didn't go well?" She asked, having a feeling he might've gotten hurt.

"These things?" He pointed to his everywhere. "No. That meeting was civil and tamed. This train wreck was from Vi."

"One sweet little girl did this? Why?" She asked while pulling out the alcohol and handing it to him.

"I was suggesting moving out and living here to be closer to work and she didn't think it was a good idea." Jaune said, feeling around for his cuts and gently dabbing at them. "The others were okay with it so long as I visited and called from time to time."

This was almost like a sign to the redheaded champion. She wasn't as superstitious as others, but after meeting Maidens, she was open to things like fate and destiny. Either way, she just had to see if it worked.

"I'm guessing you're here because you _don't_ have a place to stay, correct?" She deduced, getting him to nod. Looking over her room, it was spacious enough for two. On the matter of their genders being different, it wasn't a problem since she had experience with coeds.

"I can take the floor." He said while pulling out a rolled up sleeping bag from his bag. "This'll only be a short time until I find a place."

It was now or never for her to ask.

"Maybe you should hold off on it for now." Pyrrha suggested in a serious tone, getting him to pay full attention. It was the type of tone she used whenever they needed to go somewhere or if there was business to be done. "After you left, the general gave me some news that involves the both of us."

Putting the bag away, Jaune was all business once more. Seeing that, she continued. "It's an invitation by Ozpin to be part of a program. A sort of task force that goes beyond borders to combat against any threat to the peace we currently have."

Jaune understood the forces against them like the Grimm and White Fang. Other places in Mistral talked of a bandit camp ransacking budding villages and leaving before they're found.

"And you want to join." He said, knowing it was a good opportunity. When she nodded, he knew there was a catch. "What's stopping you?"

"The general made it a condition that both of us had to be on board or we ignore the invitation." She answered, hoping she could help him with this. Serious face gone, she was back to being Pyrrha. "Jaune, I don't know what to choose. If we go, we leave behind your sisters and all allies here. But joining this might boost Mistral's reputation and show all of Remnant we aren't weak."

"Is there more to it if we join?" Jaune pushed for more. A good reputation could push for a long way, but the exchange didn't seem that fair. The general wasn't one to give for cheap, especially with the Inner Circle.

"Vale and Atlas also agreed to deliver the promised security and technology." There was the value Jaune was looking for. "General Odyssey is looking into it more, and chances of Mistral becoming a rich state is high."

This was an opportunity the two couldn't pass. But they had connections here that made it hard to leave. The two also knew that if they were to leave, the only connections they would have would be each other.

"Do we have a time limit on when to answer?" The blonde asked, wanting to think it through more.

"Ten days."

Nodding, Jaune felt it was fair time to think of an answer. Looking at Pyrrha, she was fixing her bed. Rolling out his sleeping bag, something white and colorful caught his eye. Looking up, he a fabric he thought he'd never see again. It was his old rebel cloak Misty made for him hanging on a wall with Pyrrha's weapons. He remembered using it to wrap up her bullet wound when she got shot.

"You kept it." He said, motioning to the cloak.

"I didn't feel like throwing it away." The redhead said, looking at him over her bed. "I remember waking up with it draped over me, and I didn't know if I'd see you again to return in."

"It wasn't long that we became partner champions." He added, getting her smile at the memories it brought.

"We became so busy, I forgot about returning the cloak." Looking at it, she felt it was normal to see it everyday. "…Do you want to have it back?"

"I'll think it over." The blonde replied, closing his eyes. In ten days, he'd have his answer to both questions.

 **Ten days later**

"Looks like this is it." Jaune stared at the ship that'd bring them to Vale.

Behind him and Pyrrha were close friends and family. Scanning for his family, he saw them waving his way with teary eyes. The conversation he had with them when he decided on going was not pleasant. There was a lot of yelling on the girls' parts, a few accusations of him eloping with Pyrrha, other assumptions that Pyrrha was pregnant with his child and they were running to Vale, and the final part of begging him to stay. In the end, they all managed to come to an agreement that if things ever turned bad for both of them, they'd return back to them. And both champions agreed.

"We all set, Pyr?" He asked his partner who finished tying a red sash around her waist.

"Not yet." She replied, handing his white cloak to him. He outgrew it, but it still wrapped around his neck and acted more like a short cape now instead of a cloak. Stretching her sash, she showed the emblem of Mistral on it's corner. "This way, they all know we're Mistral's champions."

"Yeah." He nodded, strapping his sword to his side. It felt strange for him to have his sword back after using a pen for so long. He and Pyrrha still sparred in private to keep in shape and form, but it felt strange.

They were instructed to bring their main weapons, extra change of clothes, and nothing else. He thought of bringing his bow, but the others might need it more. Chances were, one of his sisters might take up hunting to get something that wasn't frozen in the stores.

When the hatch opened, the people shouted their goodbyes as the two walked in.

"Wait!" Someone shouted, running up to them. It was Misty, and she had something in her hand.

Reaching them, she held out the item for Jaune to take. Looking at what it was, it was his old player. "I know your scroll has its own player, but I thought you'd want something that reminded you of us all besides a sword and a cape."

"Mist." He said gripping the player with a sad smile. Pocketing it, he opened his arms and stepped forward to give her a hug. When she returned it, he felt her squeeze tight. Then there was the feeling of more arms wrapping around him as all his sisters joined.

"Pyrrha, get in here." Viola told the redhead who was standing alone just watching them. When the redhead joined in, they stayed that way for a few minutes before the sisters were told to get off.

When the hatch closed and the two went to their seats, Jaune took his player out. It was filled with so any old songs and memories, he couldn't get rid of it even if someone gave him a new one. Pressing play on one song, he thought it matched how he was feeling on leaving home. As the flight started and turbulence came, Jaune learnt something new on his very first flight on a ship – he had motion sickness.

As he ran to the side to heave his breakfast out with Pyrrha following close behind to support him, the song on his player played through his suffering.

' _Doncha feel like crying(2x) C'mon baby, c'mon. Cry to me.'_

Vale should prepare itself, for the champions of Mistral were coming their way.

 **END**

 **AN: And this is done. I'm putting this under complete, because after the gaidens are both complete the real story will begin. All according to keikaku. One gaiden down, another to go. Truthfully, I was almost getting tired of writing this since it was mostly politics and little action. Now we go to Ruby's version where its fast paced action, explosions, and teenage drama and angst.**

 **And again I will say, use your imagination for the lemons you pervs. I read other fanfics and for some reason, I cant really get behind adding a lemon scene with a lot of detail. I know, stones and glass houses, but I cant really get behind typing about pumping slower then faster and then changing positions, and then sensual touches and moaning and grunts. I get it! They banged/ made sweet sweet love.**

 **And since it's complete, I'm going to take a page out of Marvel to show this is connected to another story and not completely over:**

 **The Champions of Mistral will return.**


End file.
